Something Worth Fighting For
by anneikenskywalker
Summary: After The Avengers defeat Loki, he's shut away in an Asgardian cave prison. Until, one day his brother comes to visit and tried to recruit Loki to help him fight a new battle to save Earth and Asgard. Loki refuses...that is, until his brother reveals a little something that might change his mind-His son.
1. Chapter 1

Guards lined either side of the dark hallway of Asgard's prison cave, nodding their allegiance as Thor Odinson passed, making his way toward the farthest, most isolated cell in the cavern.

There, encased in glass, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, his wrists bound and resting on his knees, was the person the God of Thunder had come to see—his brother, Loki.

Looking tired and disheveled, dressed only in a green tunic, and black leather pants, the God of Mischief smirked wearily as he caught sight of his adopted brother out of the corner of his eye.

"What could possibly bring the great and mighty Thor into the presence of one so unworthy?" Loki mocked in a soft voice, cocking his head in curiosity.

"I require your assistance," Thor replied deflecting his brother's comments, "There is a threat growing. S.H.E.I.L.D contacted me. Earth is endanger and it's only month before the threat reaches the nine realms. Asgard, our home will be next-"

Loki laughed under his breath

"My _assistance_?" he countered in a patronizing voice, "Well, you've come to the wrong place my friend. My assistance is of no value to you, surely. If you haven't _noticed_, I am not only a sadistic murderous traitor, I am also a frost giant—a _freak_…"

"Remember, that you are _also_ my brother," Thor interjected quickly, "And an Asgardian, a sworn soldier of Odin—"

"Did you hear what I said before?" Loki retorted, his eyes narrowing " Or are you deaf? I am _not_ your brother, nor am I a true Asgardian…I am unworthy…an outcast. There is nothing to bind me to the fate of Asgard now. So, stop wasting your time _and_ mine."

Thor stood in silence for a moment as he contemplated Loki's words, watching as his brother laid his head back defeated against the wall again.

"Well," Thor said finally, "While I'm surprised by your amount of self reflection, I thought you might say something like that, so I've brought something with me that might change your feelings in that regard…"

Loki suddenly sat forward with interest as Thor now threw aside the cape that had covered the left side of his body to reveal a small bundle of white blankets made of sheep's wool nestled in the crook of his arm.

Thor smiled slightly as he adjusted the bundle in his arms and stepped forward toward the glass, moving aside the top folds of the blankets to reveal its contents to his brother.

A look of awe immediately crossed Loki's face as he tentatively stood from his position against the wall and stepped toward the glass himself.

He had heard whispers that his betrothed, the woman he had loved on and off for many years, had been with child when he fell from the bi frost, but it seemed trivial to him at the time as he had striven toward larger goals.

Now, he stood in disbelief as the face of a small, sleeping infant was revealed to him and Thor spoke the words that he knew were true the second he saw the child.

"Loki, meet Nari…" Thor said, looking from the infant to his brother, "Your son."

Loki didn't speak for a few moments as his piercing green eyes continued to study the infant and Thor could see the gears in his brother's mind spinning, seemingly to be sorting out his thoughts and feelings.

"He's not blue…" Loki finally whispered, swallowing as he stepped closer to the glass

"No," Thor answered, gazing back down at the infant, "Nari was born of Asgard, not the cold of Jotunheim, and though he be half Frost Giant, it matters not. He could be blue, green, purple _or_ all three combined and we would love him anyway…" Thor now looked back to his brother, "As we love _you, _Loki."

Loki's eyes widened, then softened before he took a measured step back, "No one should love me…I'm a monster."

"You may have made some poor decisions and allowed others to influence you when you should have listened to your own heart, brother, but you are no monster…"

Loki scoffed as he started pacing in front of the glass, "That's debatable."

Thor only studied his brother for a moment before taking action.

"Guard!" he called over his shoulder

"What are you doing?" Loki asked, stopping and turning to face Thor once more

But, Thor ignored him as a stocky Asgardian in full armor now appeared at his side, greeting him with the traditional gesture of respect.

"Yes, my Prince," he said with a bow

"Open the door," Thor commanded, locking eyes with a stunned Loki

"But, my Lord—" The guard protested, his own eyes shifting uneasily toward Loki

"I wish for my brother to meet his son properly, therefor by the power bestowed on me by the All Father, I command you to open the door."

Loki's eyes narrowed as the guard went sheet white, then tentatively stepped forward, bringing his staff up and touching its tip to the glass, drew a large doorway that glowed bright orange like flame, then evaporated.

After a moment, he took a step back and tapped the center of the doorway with the other end of his staff, causing the glass to fade away, revealing an entrance into the cell.

"Thank you," Thor nodded to the guard, then gestured to Loki, "Now, unbind him."

"My Lord, _please_…" the guard pleaded

"I take full responsibility for my brother and any consequences of these actions, guard," Thor acknowledged, "Free him."

The guard nodded then pointed his staff at Loki's bonds and they quickly disappeared.

"Thank you," Thor said, watching Loki rub his bare wrists, "Now, leave us."

The guard relinquished his staff, saluted the prince, and hurried away.

Loki took a tentative step back as Thor now entered through the doorway.

And they stood staring at each other for a few moments before Thor spoke.

"Would you like to hold him?" he offered, shifting the baby in his arms toward Loki

"_What?_" Loki gasped, "_No_… I wouldn't know anything about that—I'm not –"

"Don't worry, it's easy," Thor encouraged, turning the baby out of the crook of his arm, "Mother showed me how…now hold out your arms—"

"Thor…" Loki sighed, eying the infant with a worried tone

"Loki," Thor said sternly, "It's alright. You _won't _hurt him."

"I'm not—I shouldn't be—I'm _not _a father—" Loki choked out

"But you _are_ a father," Thor retorted, looking down to the still sleeping infant, "You're _his_ father, Loki, whether you want it or not."

Thor paused as he looked from the child to his brother and the wash of emotions that now spread across his face then took a step toward his brother.

"Loki, I know that you never felt like you truly belonged among us…" Thor said in a soft voice, "that we were never _truly _family to you in your eyes and I understand that as much as I disagree with it. But, this boy—_your son_—he is your flesh and blood, Loki. He is your _family _now, brother...after all these years alone, you _finally_ have family..."

Loki looked down again to the sleeping infant with uncertainty

"_Take him_," Thor encouraged, stepping closer

Finally, with a look of summoned courage, Loki stepped forward and nodded.

"Hold out your arms," Thor instructed, then smiled slightly as he moved forward and, with his free hand, positioned his brother's arms as his Mother had taught him, until Loki held the proper frame.

Then, Thor lifted the baby out of his own arms and laid him in Loki's, adjusting the blankets to make the child comfortable.

Loki let out an audible gasp of awe as he now held the child close to him and beheld his offspring close up.

"He's…so small," Loki observed as the baby shifted it it's blankets and hiccuped, "And…"

"Perfect," Thor finished

"Yes," Loki smiled, the fear in his face slowly melting away as one of the infant's small hands made its way out of the blanket folds and wrapped around his finger.

Thor watched Loki and Nari for a few moments before he suddenly saw a look of sadness cross Loki's face.

"What is it, brother?" he asked curiously

Loki didn't say anything for a few moments as he caressed his son's small fingers in his, then studied how small his hand was in his palm.

"Do you think he'll hate me when he's old enough to know the truth about me—_who _I am—_what_ I am?" Loki asked

"Why would you say such a thing?" Thor replied

"Because as my son he'll be an outcast—"

"But as my nephew, he will _not be_." Thor said adamantly, "I will not let him be cast aside—I will protect him and guide him. You have my word on that. And as for the truth about _you_, brother, he shall know only of the Loki I know and remember- the Loki I grew up with and know deep down still exists inside of you, not what you see when you look in the mirror or other people remember in the midst of chaos and destruction."

"Thank you," Loki said softly, his eyes meeting Thor's in a tender moment between the brothers before Loki looked back down at Nari.

"So what assistance can I offer you, brother?" Loki asked, not taking his eyes off his newborn son

Thor smiled as he raised an eyebrow, "You've changed your mind?"

Loki laughed under his breath as he held his son closer to his chest and ran a long, pale, graceful hand gently over his child's forehead, before turning back to Thor.

"Let's just say that I now have something worth fighting for."

"You don't say…" Thor mocked good-naturedly, "And here here I thought Asgard wasn't your home."

"It's not," Loki replied, looking down again at his son's face as the boy's eyes now opened to reveal his startling green eyes and focused them on his father, "But it's my son's."

Thor nodded knowingly, "I'll let S.H.E.I.L.D know you're on board."


	2. Chapter 2

"You are a mellow little chap aren't you?" Loki mused as he gazed upon his newborn son, lying still and quiet in his arms, but taking in the room with wide and curious eyes, his small hand still wrapped around his father's finger.

Thor had left the room minutes before to arrange his release, giving Loki plenty of time to study and observe his offspring—from his small appendages, to the soft pink hue of his skin, to his inherited green eyes and the tuft of dark brown hair that Loki now found himself stroking gently with his free hand, causing the baby to coo and his eyes to flutter as he soon fell back asleep.

Loki smirked at this, moving his hand down to stroke the side of his son's soft face, then his chin, causing the baby to smile in his sleep.

"It's time, brother," Thor's voice suddenly sounded from the doorway of the cell and Loki looked up to see he had returned with a guard at his side and a set of shackles in his hands.

"Are those really necessary?" Loki asked, nodding toward the shackles with a raised eyebrow as he stood from where he had been sitting, adjust the baby in his arms and folding the blankets around him

"I'm afraid so. The All Father and S.H.E.I.L.D both agree that if you are to be freed on conditional release, you are to be shackled at all times," Thor replied, an inflection of sadness in his voice

"I suppose I don't blame them," Loki replied solemnly, "I know my true nature better than anyone and I wouldn't trust me either."

"Brother—" Thor retorted sympathetically

"No, it's alright, _really_…" Loki countered, "Just look at New York…or what's _left_ of it."

Thor smirked, then sighed as he stepped toward his brother

"Wait," Loki said, looking from Thor, then down to his son sleeping in his arms, "Can—can I just hold him a short while longer? Just until we reach the palace."

Thor seemed taken aback and raised a startled eyebrow

"I can't very well do any mischief or harm to anyone with a baby in my arms, now can I?" Loki scoffed, "I promise I'll wear the blasted things willingly for the rest of our adventure after we reach the kingdom of the All Father and I can place the child safely in his mother's arms."

Thor's face suddenly went solemn as his brother's last words.

"Very well," he finally agreed, then turned and handed the shackles to the guard at his side and leaned into the man and whispered, "Will you leave us?"

The guard nodded and quickly scurried back through the door.

"Brother," Thor said, stepping forward, coming to Loki's side, "Before we return to the palace, there is something you need to know…"

Loki's face immediately fell as he took in his brother's words and looked down again to his sleeping son.

There was a moment of silence as Loki absorbed all the possibilities of what could have fallen his beloved, his betrothed…the mother of his child.

"What?" he finally said in a soft voice, looking back up to Thor, his green eyes pleading.

"It's about Heila..." Thor said

# # # # # #

Two hours later, the door to the palace crypt opened Loki and Thor entered behind two Odinheim guards, who led them down the low lit, white marble hallway.

As he led his shackled brother by the arm, Thor tried to meet Loki's gaze, but the God of Mischief only looked down to the ground, seemingly lost in his own thoughts since they had returned home and their mother, Frigga, had taken the baby so Thor could take Loki to the crypt.

When they finally arrived at the far end of the hall, they found themselves in front of a large, elegantly carved wooden door.

One of the guards quickly opened the door with a key, while the other stepped to the side and took post.

Loki and Thor then followed the remaining guard through the door as it groaned open and immediately entered a torch lit sanctuary.

Thor heard Loki audibly gasp when he saw the sight before them.

There, in the center of the room, on a stone pedestal, sat a frosted glass coffin blanketed in red roses.

After a few moments of awkward silence, the guard left the two brothers and when the door to the sanctuary closed behind them, Thor finally spoke.

"Father declared that she lay in state here until proper arrangements could be made for her to buried in the family catacombs," he said softly

Loki let out an unsteady breath, "It only took her death for him to see how much she meant to me?"

Thor closed his eyes in sadness, but didn't reply as he watched his brother now move forward in his chains and slowly fall to his knees before the coffin.

It was true. Their father had never been a proponent of Loki's relationship with Heila. Though she was of noble Asgardian blood, a goddess in her own right, and had grown up with Loki and Thor in the Odeheim court, their father had had other plans when it came to romantic matches for his sons and the future of Asgard.

And while he didn't have to worry about Thor's eye wandering to an unfit match, for the young God of Thunder seemed to be one who relished battle and frivolity more than women, Loki had posed other problems.

More of a gifted intellectual and far more sensitive, Loki had always yearned for companionship and from the very first moment Odin noticed the connection between his younger son and the beautiful red- headed girl in his court, the All Father had done everything he could to keep Loki and Heila separated.

However, his plan never worked and Heila and Loki always seemed to find their way back to each other.

Odin never listened to Frigga when she claimed that Loki and Heila were written in the stars—soul mates- and that it would be pointless to keep them apart because he never took stock in such things—but Thor did.

Especially after he saw a moment between his brother and the girl he loved that made him believe in the idea that some things are just meant to be.

# # # # #

_**ONE YEAR AGO…**_

_The great hall of Valhalla was rapturous with laughter and song as the court welcomed home Asgard's army from battle against their foes. _

_Loki and Thor laughed and sparred where they were seated next to each other at the grand hall table as their friends and comrades shared glorious tales of battle and woe to the court, who listened with enthusiasm. _

"_I'll say this now," Thor said, taking a drink of mead, "When I am King, I will be glad to have you by my side. You truly proved yourself these last few months, Brother. I had no idea you had a warriors heart!" _

_Thor smiled as he placed his grog down and turned to his brother, but Loki wasn't listening to anything his brother was saying anymore, his focus was elsewhere and Thor immediately followed his brother's gaze to it's intended target. _

_There, six chairs down the side of the long table, a beautiful young maiden with long wavy red hair, bright as red flame was taking a seat among the other goddesses, her white and gold dress flowing softly behind her as her dark eyes locked with Loki's. _

"_Brother?" Thor chimed, turning back to Loki as the God of Mischief continued to stare at the maiden, smirking while lazily popping grapes one by one into his mouth_

"_Brother?" Thor sang again as he swiped his hand in front of Loki's face, but Loki just smiled and gazed around the offending appendage. _

"_Your hopeless! You know that?" Thor laughed as he grabbed another mug of mead and left the head of the table to join his friends, "Childhood crushes.." _

"_What?" Loki suddenly asked, breaking out of his trance and looking around_

_# # # # # # _

_Hours later, merry voices could still be heard as the hall of Valhalla emptied and the gathering dispersed. _

_Thor laughed heartily as he watched from the threshold of the hall as the Warrior Three, blistered from feast and drink, raced each other down the grand reception hall to courtyard, beer flying from the grogs of mead still in their hands as wielded their swords with cries of triumph._

"_Come with us, Thor," One of the blonde Valkyries dressed in white robes implored with a smile, suddenly appearing at his side and her dark- haired sister soon at his other shoulder, touching it seductively. _

"_I will, Fair Ladies," Thor smirked flirtatiously, "What is thy pleasure?" _

"_The music room," The blonde said in a soft whisper, biting her lip, "Let us dance…" _

_"Well, that's my cue!" Sif laughed, coming up from behind them as she exited through the threshold, saluting, "Good night, Thor!" _

_Then she disappeared down one of the side hall. _

_Thor rolled his eyes and turned back the Valkyries, when suddenly a familiar voice chimed in. _

"_I think I'll head to bed as well," Loki's said as he now came to his brother's side  
_

"_So soon, brother?" Thor inquired, "We have triumphed in battle! We should celebrate!" _

_Loki smirked and raised an eyebrow as he watched Thor lift the Valkyries, one in each arm and they cried out in excitement and glee._

"_No," Loki admonished, suddenly, scanning the crowd as if looking for someone, "I think I'm going to call it a night. Enjoy the fair lady's company and I will see you when dawn breaks for our early morning ride." _

_"Brother, what is really going on with you?" Thor asked, following Loki's gaze_

"_What? Me?" Loki said, turning his gaze back to his brother, "Uh…nothing. Nothing at all."  
_

_Then he gave a mischievous smile and quickly walked back toward the great hall as Thor heard him call back to him over his shoulder, "Good night!" _

_Thor quickly turned around, the Valkyries still tucked under his arms and watched after his brother as Loki hurried his pace and made his way across the room and through one of the back entrances. _

"_Thor," the blond Valkyrie whispered in his ear, "Let's go…I wish to dance for you..." _

"_Wait." Thor said his eyes narrowing as he stared after Loki, then turned back to the women, "I'll be back." _

_The Valkyries pouted as he peeled them off of his arms and quickly backtracked to follow his brother.  
_

_When he crossed the threshold through the entrance at the back of the great hall, he found himself in the Heldirum Hall, a maze of catacomb-ed hallways with vaulted ceilings and walls made entirely of black hematite that branched out to other sectors of the palace. _

_Thor narrowed his eyes as he looked for any sign of Loki, then caught sight of the back of his brother's shadow as he made his way down the third branch of the hall. _

_Curious as to where he was heading, Thor followed Loki down the hall and into the back foyer of the second palace, keeping a carefully measured distance behind him as to not be seen._

_When he saw Loki quickly turn on his heel and head out onto one of the many verandas connected onto the palace foyer, Thor followed suit, immediately planting himself behind one of the large stone pillars to view the scene before him. _

_A small surprised smirk crossed his face when he saw what mischief his brother was really up to. _

_He was meeting __**her…**_

_Thor watched as Loki walked up slowly behind Heila, who was standing on the balcony, leaning over the rail and looking out onto night falling on the city of Asgard as her red hair blew gently in the breeze._

_Loki had seemed careful not to disturb her, but Heila had immediately sensed his presence, and turned to look back at him over her shoulder with a sweet smile. _

"_You waited for me…" Loki said in a low voice, seemingly filled with awe as he closed the distance between them, "You gave yourself to no other." _

"_I promised you I wouldn't," Heila replied, still eyeing him over her shoulder, "Though Father was not pleased I did so. He thinks me a fool for loving you." _

_"That makes two of us," Loki countered  
_

_"I'm just glad that you kept __**your**__ promise and came back in one piece…" Heila said softly, "And from what I hear from your friend's stories tonight, still as your charismatic, mischievous self …" _

_"Disappointed?" Loki asked_

_"No..." Heila replied, "I'm glad of that. I never wish you to be anything but what you are."_

"_It seems you're the only one," Loki mused, then his eyes softened, "Why is that? Ever since we were children, you've always accepted who and what I am so easily…**why**?"_

_Heila immediately turned around to face him and reach out to him, but just as she did so, he playfully separated himself into fifteen identical mirages around the veranda._

_Heila took in a breath, smirked, then stepped forward, taking a moment to glance at each figure of Loki before her. _

"_Well…" she said as her soft, chocolate eyes scanned the room, soon locking onto three of the mirages standing directly to her left, "Maybe because I have the rare talent of seeing through all of your trickery…" _

_Then, without hesitation, she b-lined straight for the middle of the three Loki mirages she had singled out... But, suddenly stopped short, just inches from her chosen mirage and quickly turned to face the one on the right, instead, changing her mind._

"_To find the real you…" she finished, then smiled happily as she moved forward, and standing on her tip toes, captured his lips in a passionate kiss._

_She had chosen correctly._

_Immediately, the other mirages disappeared and she was left with her Loki as he pulled her closer to him, deepening their kiss.  
_

_After a few moments, they finally parted and she pressed her forehead to his as she whispered, "Welcome home my Prince…" _

_Loki smirked as he closed his eyes and relished being close to her, drinking in her scent and bringing his hands up to stroke the sides of her face gently. _

"_I am, you know…" he said softly, inches from her lips_

"_What?" Heila asked, pulling back slightly to face him as he opened his eyes at her words and his striking green met her soft brown_

"_Yours," he replied, searching her eyes for a moment before re-capturing her lips_

# # # # # #

"How did she die?" Loki asked, his lip trembling as he focused his eyes on the glass coffin laid out before him

"In childbirth," Thor said, coming to his side, "It was a difficult delivery and she lost too much blood. The healer tried to save her, but it was too late."

"Was she alone?" Loki inquired, his voice barely audible, "Was she in pain?"

"No," Thor soothed, "No. Mother was with her. She said that in her condition, Heila fell unconscious before she died—there would have been no pain."

Loki nodded, but didn't take his eyes off the coffin…

Thor now notice that he hadn't even blinked.

"Brother, what are you thinking?" Thor asked, trying to find a way to comfort Loki as he laid a tentative hand on his shoulder, "Tell me…please."

Loki swallowed back his emotions for a moment, then spoke, his eyes never leaving the coffin.

"I was just thinking about how I've known her my whole life…how, from the beginning, she was the one person who knew me better than anyone—understood me better than anyone—and accepted me for who and what I was. She may have—she—"

Loki suddenly, stopped as he tried to control his emotions again

"Brother…" Thor whispered, but Loki quickly regained his composure and continued

"She may have been the one person in this life I have every truly and unconditionally loved and I never told her…I probably showed her in more ways than one, but I never _told _her…"

"She knew, Loki," Thor whispered

"And now she's dead because of me," Loki continued, ignoring Thor's comments, "Because she died bearing my child..."

"No, Loki—" Thor said, squeezing his brother's shoulder as he saw a lone tear streak down his brother's cheek

"Please," Loki interjected, his wet eyes still glued to the coffin in his trance, "Just go…I-I want to be alone…with her."


	3. Chapter 3

"Guard!"

A guard of Odinheim never broke post, but the tall centurion now stationed outside the door to the sanctuary of the palace crypt, couldn't help but step forward.

He had known the Prince Loki since he was a baby, when the All Father had first brought him home from the cold of Jotunnheim.

Only Makkar and a handful of Odin's most loyal and trusted guardians knew Loki's true identity and swore an oath to the All Father long ago that they would never reveal the boy's true origins.

And as the years the passed, Makkar had watched over Loki and his adopted brother Thor like a hawk as they grew into young men –Thor into an eager, sometimes selfish, but talented warrior and Loki into a kinder and tamer soul, but a mischievous sorcerer under his mother's guidance.

Then, more years passed and the events that followed—Thor's banishment, The All Father falling into the Odin sleep and a misguided and fragile minded Loki became King not long after Odin apparently had told him the secret he'd been keeping from the boy all his life.

Maakar's heart died a little when the final fight meant Loki had fallen from the Bifrost to his death…then it died a little more when he heard that Loki was alive, but on Midgard wreaking havoc and destruction, killing humans…and a little more after that when, a month ago, Thor returned from Midgard with Loki in tow, bringing him before their father in chains in the palace at Odinheim.

To Maakar's relief, Odin's love for the boy, his wife's anguish and the fact that Loki's son had recently been born, albeit at the cost of Loki's true love, stayed Odin's hand.

Instead, he had sentenced Loki to life in Vrrungar, the Asgardian cave prison.

"Guard!"

Maakar closed his eyes as he sucked in a breath to steady himself, then relinquished his staff under his arm and marched the few steps before turning sharply toward the door and opening it ceremoniously, crossing the threshold and now taking stance in the doorway of the sanctuary.

"My Lord," he acknowledged in a sturdy voice, his eyes trained ahead and focused.

No one had referred to him as "My Lord" since his incarceration and the gesture was not lost on the Prince.

Loki quickly looked back over his shoulder, his eyes widening as he took in the centurion now standing behind him.

"Maakar…" he whispered

"My Lord," Maakar nodded respectfully, "You called for a guard. What is thy command?"

"I know this might be too much to ask, especially given that—"

"What is thy command…" Maakar interjected, trying to ease Loki's mind, "_My Lord_?"

"Could—could you assist me by opening the coffin?" Loki asked, his eyes pained

"My Lord, if that is they will, Maakar will see it done," the centurion nodded again, then lowered his staff to the ground and moved forward, bringing himself to the Prince's side where he kneeled, looking down upon the glass coffin for a few moments before gently removing the bed of roses on top and placing them on a nearby altar.

When he returned to the foot of the coffin, he took hold of the curved lid and gently pushed the top aside, then stepped back.

Loki gasped, rising to his feet, his eyes immediately fixing upon the pale face of the red-headed woman laying respectfully in a white flowing gown at the bottom of the coffin, startlingly beautiful and looking as if she could be sleeping, rather than dead.

The guard regarded Loki for a few moments as the Prince moved forward.

"My Love…" he whispered as he took in her face, then lowered his cheek to rest against her cold one as he reached forward to where her hands lay folded on her stomach, shifting his own hands in his chains as he entwined his right hand in her left, caressing her fingers.

Then he closed his eyes and let his mind take him back to the last few instances when their hands had been thus entwined...

Like their hearts.

_# # # # # # # _

_**7 Months ago…**_

_Trumpets sounded in the courtyard, causing Heila's eyes to flutter as she roused herself from a blissful sleep and took in a breath as she squinted against the soft light flooding in through the open windows across the room. _

_Soon, a body stirred under the bed covers next to her and she immediately felt Loki's long, slender arm bring itself around her, pulling her into an embrace as his hand found hers and slowly and seductively entwined their fingers, caressing them softly. _

"_Good Morning," he whispered against her skin as she felt him begin to lay a trail of open mouthed kissed up her spine to her neck, then to her shoulder, where his chin rested there, waiting for her to turn her head back toward him and meet his gaze._

"_More like 'Good Afternoon'…" she smiled, when she finally did so, "We've slept the day away…"_

"_Among other things," Loki smirked, then quickly captured her lips in a passionate kiss as she turned the rest of her body gently to face him and he pulled the sheets tighter around them._

_Their lips tangled eagerly for a few moments before Heila pulled away, giggling as Loki climbed over top of her, keeping their hands entwined as he pinned her beneath him and gazed down at her with stunning and captive eyes._

"_You missed your traditional early morning ride with Thor," Heila said softly, her eyes dancing as her chocolate brown met his electric green_

"_He'll get over it," Loki replied in a seductive voice as he lowered his face to hers and began lazily kissing down her jawline, eliciting soft moans as his ministrations soon reached the sensitive skin on the side of her neck._

"_But, I very much doubt he will 'get over' you missing something far more important…" Heila sang playfully, closing her eyes in pleasure as Loki's ministrations traveled further down her body under the sheets…to her collarbone, then her chest…_

_He had just reached her belly button, when suddenly Loki threw the sheets off of his head and revealed himself as he sighed in a defeated tone and rested his forehead on her stomach in exasperation._

"_Ugh!" he groaned against her skin, "I forgot…the naming ceremony is today!" _

_Heila laughed, partly because she found Loki's theatrical realization of his brother's big day humorous and partly because the rumbling vibrations of his voice against her skin had made her ticklish. _

_It was at that moment that a succession of loud knocks could be heard at the bedchamber doors. _

_Loki just groaned louder and Heila giggled again._

"_Oh, you __**like that**__?" he quipped, then pulled himself up across the length of her body and kissed her lightly on the mouth before diving down and pressing his lips to her left jugular, blowing air and sending vibrations against her neck, making her laugh harder._

"_Ah! Stop!" Heila giggled loudly and without abandon, "Oh—Oh, please! I surrender! I surrender!" _

_Loki smiled as he pulled back, but before he could do anything else to torture her, the knocks at the door sounded again, louder this time. _

"_Alright! I'm coming!" Loki said, rolling his eyes as he pulled himself up off of Heila and sat up, then grabbed a blanket from the end of the bed and wrapped it around himself unceremoniously._

_He had just stood up and started walking across the room, running a hand through his dark hair, when the knocks started again. _

"_For the love of the Gods!" Loki cried as he pulled open the large wooden door and caught his manservant, Haimmer in mid-knock, then lowered his voice to a more even tone, "I said I was coming."_

"_My apologies, My Lord," Haimmer acknowledged, nodding as he slowly lowered his raised hand, "But the Queen was worried. She did not see you at the table this morning and then she heard from Prince Thor that you missed your morning ride with him. She feared you had fallen ill." _

"_Did she tell you to knock insistently until I answered as well?" Loki mocked _

"_No, Sir. I just thought maybe after so much drink last night, you might be hard to rouse, but then I heard—"_

"_Quite right," Loki commended, shutting the door partly as he saw Haimmer's eyes curiously looking over Loki's shoulder in to the room, "That is all it was. Tell my Mother that I am well. I was just tired and in need of rest from the celebrations last night." _

"_I will, My Lord," Haimmer replied, "And since you are well, she asked me to inform you that you are late for the naming ceremony and you are to wear your ceremonial dress." _

"_Oh…oh…no…" Loki groaned, "Surely not." _

"_By order of the King, all Asgardian soldiers are to appear in full dress—"_

"_This is a cosmic joke…" Loki mocked under his breath with disdain  
_

"_I apologize for My Lord's disappointment, but it is __**required**__…" _

"_Yes..Yes…" Loki chided, sighing and leaning on the door frame, "Anything else?" _

"_No, My Lord. The ceremony is in fifteen minutes. I left your robes in your dressing chamber…" Haimmer bowed, "My Lord." _

_Then without further delay, the manservant scurried away _

_Loki closed the door and when he turned around, found Heila sitting on the bed, wrapped in sheets and tossing her hair over her shoulder as she bit her lip to suppress her laughter. _

"_You found that amusing did you?" Loki asked as he moved back toward her_

"_Oh, yes…" Heila replied, her eyes dancing, "Not only do I find it extremely adorable that you defended my honor by pretending you slept in due to drink, but I can't thank Odin enough for allowing me to now view you in my favorite of all your uniforms at the ceremony today! It always gives me a good laugh—"_

_Loki straightened and tried to look serious, "It's the required dress uniform of a—" _

"_Loki, you look like a cow!" Heila countered, busting into laughter, "Your helmet has __**horns**__ for Gods sake—"_

"_Oh! You and Thor!" Loki chided as he ripped the blankets off of himself, "Always with the 'cow' remarks! You mock my suffering, do you?!" _

_Then suddenly, he charged at her, leaping onto the bed and eliciting a squeal of delight from Heila as she quickly tried to make her escape, but was quickly subdued by him._

_When she was finally pinned beneath him under the sheets again, Loki took in her smiling face for a few moments before lowering his face to hers. _

"_I'll suppose I will have to give you something else to grin about at the ceremony, then…" he whispered against her lips before laying a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. _

"_Promise?" she asked in seductive voice as their eyes met._

"_Have I ever broken a promise to you?" he asked as he kissed her forehead_

"_No, my Prince, you have not," she replied honestly as she watched Loki's face come even with hers again_

"_Then you have nothing to worry about…" he said as his eyes met hers and his face hovered there for a few more moments before he leaned in and captured his lips with hers._

_As their lips danced, Heila moaned as she felt his left arm wrap around the back of her body, lifting her up and against him, allowing him easy access to her. _

_And soon they were moving in unison, him above her, working toward their mutual pleasure as their mouths met, then parted and he began kissing her earlobe, then her cheek, then her jawline, then down her neck as his right hand found her left and their hands entwined…_

_# # # # # # _

_"Well, I have to say that you are the most handsome cow I've ever seen," Heila smiled as she came up behind Loki in the glowing light of the great hall lower chamber and took his hand, entwining their fingers._

_Loki smiled as he twirled her under his arm so the she was soon facing him and brought her in close, kissing her lips._

_"Where is Thor?" Heila asked when she pulled back, straightening the front of his uniform_

_Suddenly, there was a noise in the hall and the door at the cellar entrance opened and Thor marched inside, wielding his hammer in one hand and, with the other, downing a glass of wine  
_

_"Another!" he cried triumphantly as he tosses the wooden goblet into the fire. _

_"And...that's my cue..." Heila said softly, kissing Loki's cheek, then with a smirk, stepped back from him, holding his gaze with hers as their as their entwined hands slowly came apart._

_"Don't leave..." he whispered, stepping forward, his hand still reaching out to her_

_"I'll see you later," Heila whispered back, then nodded toward where Thor's shadow was swiftly approaching before she lowered her hand, then quickly turned around and left. _

_Loki watched her leave and when she had rounded the corner, straightened his posture, took a breath, then stepped forward through the golden silk draperies, smiling as his brother came into view._

_As soon as Thor stopped in the center of the marble hall, Loki came to his side, regarding Thor's manner. _

_"Nervous brother?" he asked sincerely_

_Thor laughed, "When have you ever known me to be nervous?"_

_"There was a time in Norunnheim..." Loki pointed out_

_"That was wasn't nerves brother," Thor quickly countered, "That was the rage of battle."_

_"Ah.." Loki commended with a small smile, "I see..."_

_"How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warrior and pulled us out alive?"_

_"Uh...as I recall," Loki replied, "I was the one who veiled us in smoke to aide our escape."  
_

_Thor chuckled, "Ah...yes. Some do battle, others just do tricks." _

_Loki rolled his shoulders, trying to let his brother's jab go over his head in good humor, but suddenly felt a hint of anger swell inside of him when the servant who had appeared at Thor's side to serve him a glass of wine started chuckling at Thor's words. _

_Without hesitation, Loki quickly turned his gaze on the man, and with the flick of his hand, made three snakes instantly slither out of the goblet on the servant's tray. _

_The man immediately dropped the tray and goblet in fear and Loki smiled mischievously at his reaction.  
_

_"Loki..." Thor wined, "Now that's just a waste of good wine."_

_"Oh, it's just a bit of fun," Loki ensured his brother, then looked to the still terrified servant, "Right, my friend?"_

_Then with another wave of his hand, the snakes disappeared and the manservant quickly cleaned up the mess and scurried away as Thor and Loki both shared a chuckle. _

_Suddenly, one of Odin's soldiers appeared at Thor's side, bowing as he handed him a silver gilded helmet engraved with Hermes wings. _

_Thor inhaled a sharp breath as he took the helmet in his hand and the soldier backed away ceremoniously._

_Loki studied his brother with kind regard for a moment, noticing Thor's contemplation of the physical and metaphoric weight of the helmet and what it meant as Odin's heir. _

_"Oooh..nice feathers," Loki quipped, trying to lighten his brother's mood._

_Thor chuckled as he turned to his brother, "You don't really want to start this again, do you...**cow**?" _

_"I was being sincere..." Loki smiled, though his mind thought immediately of Heila and his heart warmed beyond measure at their encounter earlier and how it was only her and Thor who ever, since the beginning, dared mock his uniform._


	4. Chapter 4

Thor quickly ascended the stairs of the palace, removing and tossing his cape gracefully to an approaching servant, nearly knocking the refreshment tray out of the man's hand.

The servant immediately received the cape, then bowed and moved hurriedly out of the way, seeing that Thor had no interest in the mead and fruit he had brought to offer him, walking past the servant to the solace of the outdoor veranda.

The God of Thunder closed his eyes, sighing audibly as he leaned over the railing and rested his face in his hands.

"Thor," a familiar voice sounded behind him and lowered his hands from his face to view his mother, Frigga, out of the corner of his eye, now coming to his side with Nari in her arms.

Thor gave a sad smile as the queen placed her free hand on his shoulder.

"What troubles you my son?" she asked solemnly, "And where is your brother?"

"I left him in the crypt," Thor replied, straightening as he rubbed his hands thoughtfully and pulled back from his position on the railing, "He asked to be alone…"

Frigga gave a knowing nod, "With Heila."

"Yes," Thor said, turning and taking a seat on the stone railing as he folded his arms across his chest and regarded her with soft eyes, " I left the guards with him and he is chained, the All Father cannot disapprove—"

"I still don't understand why you would take him down there," Frigga replied, her eyes narrowing on him and her voice tinged with sadness, "He needs to move forward, not back."

"But, he also needs closure Mother," Thor countered, "And as for moving forward, he's already taken the first step. He's agreed to help us—even if only for Nari's sake."

Thor smiled as he unfolded his arms and took a step forward, stroking Nari's cheek with his thumb as the baby smiled and cooed up at Thor.

"Perhaps…" Frigga replied, giving and unsure smirk as she looked down to the baby as well, "I just worry about him. It's like he just _broke_ one day, like the bottom fell out of his life and his mind, his loyalties, his priorities—they all changed. It's like he's a completely different person now … what he did on Migard…I still can't believe—"

"He has just lost his way Mother …" Thor said, gently pulling his hand back from the baby and resting it reassuringly upon Frigga's arm, "And it's true...he **has** changed, almost as if finding his true identity as a Frost giant and struggling with it made him crave validation more than he ever did so before—a kingdom-power-something of his own. But, I still have faith that he will find his way again and that the Loki we knew and loved is still inside him somewhere. And as long as he'll let me, I will keep fighting for that part of him. I owe him that much."

"You're a good brother," Frigga said, placing a gentle hand over top of his

"I don't know about that," Thor sighed, "I'll always feel like I failed him somehow and—and when I watched him today in the crypt as he mourned Heila, I realized something…"

"What is that?" Frigga asked with a raised eyebrow

"That I will always lack the talent of seeing through him as easily as _she _could…"

# # # # # # #

_7 months ago…_

"_Heila…" Loki said softly as he walked out to their traditional meeting spot on the palace veranda._

_Immediately, upon hearing his voice, Heila quickly turned, from where she stood at the railing, to face him.  
_

"_Thank the Gods," she whispered in relief as she walked quickly into his arms, cuddling close to his chest against his armor as she felt him engulf her in his embrace, "I was worried. It all happened so quickly—the ceremony disbanded and you left with Thor and the All Father. Then, we heard one of the guards mention Frost giants in Asgard—"_

"_Yes, it's true," Loki confirmed, as he kissed her hair and drank in her scent, "A small fraction of them did come here—rebels, Father thinks. They broke into the relic room. But, it's over. There is no danger now." _

"_Good," Heila breathed as she pulled away, her soft gaze meeting Loki's for a few moments before she quickly raised her right hand and abruptly slapped him hard across the face._

_Loki immediately brought his hand up to his jaw, rubbing where the skin still smarted from the contact, while staring at her with a look of impressed shock. _

"_Idiot," she stated, her dark eyes brewing with a mixture of awe and disbelief as she lowered her hand back to her side._

"_How did you know?" Loki asked with an amused smirk, still soothing his jaw  
_

"_How did I __**know?**__" Heila smiled slightly as she scoffed and folded her arms across her chest, "I __**know **__because I know __**you**__, Loki. And, because who else would know a way into Asgard without using the Bifrost?" _

"_Guilty…" Loki replied, shrugging with a devilish glint in his eye_

"_Are you completely out of your mind?" Heila countered, her face turning serious again, "Frost giants? At your brother's naming ceremony?" _

"_Oh, come off it…"Loki smiled playfully as he took a step forward, lowering his hand from his face and reaching it out to pull her close to him, "It was all in good mischief—"_

_But, she immediately took a step back, avoiding his grasp._

"_No…" Heila said, unfolding her arms and holding up her hands to stop his advances, "You don't get to be all charming and weasel your way out of this one. 'Good mischief' does not entail showing your Father's sworn enemies into Asgard! What if they hadn't gone straight to the relic room? And what if they had brought more with them… not just a handful, but an army! What would have kept them from killing any one of us, not to mention the All Father—"_

"_But they didn't!" Loki defended his posture straightening as he met her defiant gaze, "The big, dumb oafs came in and went straight for the casket and Thor reacted __**exactly **__as I knew he would when I devised this in the first place," then he took a step toward her, scoffing with an amused smile, "You should have seen Father's face when he said we should march into Jotunheim. I thought he was going to have a coronary!" _

_Heila just shook her head as she took another step back, but Loki's hand grabbed her shoulder gently and she soon found herself gazing into his eyes as they softened_

"_I promise you, I didn't mean any harm to anyone," he said in a low voice, "I just wanted to take the attention away from my brother…for__** once…**__and I'm __**not **__sorry I succeeded. But, please, believe me when I tell you, it __**was**__ all just me being my mischievous self. I just wanted to mess with Thor on his day…__**that is all." **_

_He kept his eyes locked with Heila as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers and she gave a relenting sigh as he snaked one of his arms around her waist, finally managing to pull her close once more.  
_

"_I did take precautions. I only spelled the passage to allow three giants through and I would have died before I ever let them harm you…" he breathed, then kissed her nose and she gave a reluctant smile, "If all goes well, all that will happen is that my brother will be dumb enough to go to Jotunheim and my Father will bail him out like he always does and I'll be in the perfect position to prove myself as –" _

"_The better son," Heila interrupted in a low voice, before pulling back to search his eyes, "The rightful heir?"_

"_Something like that…" Loki smirked uncertainly_

"_Loki…" Heila soothed, running her hand down his arm, "I know you've never felt as though you were Thor's equal—that you were different-but you don't need to prove anything to anyone. Just believe that your father has a plan for everything he does and __**doesn't**__ do—"_

"_Oy! Mischievous one!" Fandral suddenly cried from nearby, causing Loki to look back over his shoulder with a look of mild annoyance and curiosity as he watched Thor's friends walk quickly past them, Hogun and Sif in the lead, as they made their way through the rotunda to the great hall, "Your brother is on the rampage…we might need your sorcery to subdue him." _

"_Worst of all..._t_he banquet has been cancelled!" Volstagg cried forlornly as he brought of the rear behind Fandral_

_Loki rolled his eyes and sighed as he turned back to Heila. _

"_I suppose I should follow them and be the supportive little brother," he said with mock enthusiasm, his voice clearly reflecting that he had something up his sleeve_

"_**How **__supportive?" Heila challenged with a smirk_

"_I may or may not tell Thor that his idea to go to Jotunheim is the right one..." Loki replied_

"_I see…" Heila said softly, closing her eyes and taking in a breath before she opened them, "I've told you before, Loki, that I will never try to change you or dissuade you. We are all responsible for our own lives and you are who you are and I am grateful for that in more ways than one. But, I've always believed there is symmetry to the world and you must be careful with that silver tongue of yours... or one day, your mischief will find its back to you..." _

"_I know what I'm doing," Loki assured her and she reluctantly nodded, closing her eyes again at his touch as he reached out and gently stroked her cheek_

_"Just be careful," Heila said softly, relishing his touch_

_"Of course," Loki soothed, then leaned in close to her_

"_Tell me you still love me..." he whispered in a sweet, tender and teasing voice, and watched as she quickly re-opened her eyes at his words_

"_I love you," she affirmed in a soft tone, then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, cuddling close to his chest_

_"Tell me you trust me," he whispered again, now resting his chin contently on the crown of her head_

_Heila sighed, then released her hold on him and pulled back to face him._

"_Never…" she replied with a knowing smirk, before leaning in and kissing him passionately, letting their lips tangle for a few moments before she turned out of his grasp and walked off down the side steps to the palace lawn, leaving Loki alone on the veranda._

_He watched after her for a few moments until she disappeared, then smiled devilishly and turning on his heel, took off t__hrough the rotunda toward the great hall.  
_


	5. Chapter 5

As per Asgardian tradition, two of Odin's guards stood vigilant just above the high tower of the palace, their eyes scanning the grounds for any sign of unusual activity.

The younger of the two guards smiled as his gaze eventually fell upon the Queen and her son, Thor, standing on the veranda below them, conversing and fawning over the baby in Frigga's arms.

Suddenly, his counterpart touched tapped his staff against the young guard's armor to capture his attention and the man moved his gaze up toward the horizon, his golden helmet shielding his blue eyes from the sun, watching the stream of light that now flowed from the golden root of Yggdrasil, signaling that Haimdall had opened the bifrost.

Both straightened as they knew what it meant. They had been informed of the event and so had the All Father. And though no one was comfortable with the arrangement, it was agreed between Thor and Odin that it had to be done.

"Go," the older guard instructed, keeping his eyes focused ahead as the younger one immediately turned on his heel and left.

Moments later, he appeared on the same veranda where he had viewed Thor and Frigga shortly before.

"My Lord," he said, coming to attention just a few feet behind the Queen, then after bowing his allegiance to Thor, continued, "The Midgardians are arriving."

# # # # #

"Whoa…" Natasha whispered as the bifrost closed behind them and she now took in the sight of the Asgardian skyline and then of Haimdall, standing on his golden pedestal above them as his piercing amber eyes scanned over the tall red-headed human, dressed in a black leather jumpsuit, and her male companion now standing before him.

"I'll say…" Clint swallowed in reply, "That was quite the ride…" then his eyes narrowed as he brought a hand to rest on his stomach, "So much so that I think I'm going hurl."

"Oh, don't be such a baby…" Natasha smirked

"Greetings," Haimdall suddenly acknowledged in a deep voice, as he took a measured step back from Yggdrasil and relinquished his sword to rest in front of him, his eyes focused and his posture straight and unyielding.

"Um… 'Greetings'… " Clint replied uncertainly, mocking Haimdall's tone as he brought his hand up and saluted the gatekeeper, much to Natasha's amusement

"My friends!" Thor's voice suddenly sounded and Hawkeye and the Black Window saw the God of Thunder gracefully land with his hammer at the entrance to the chamber behind Haimdall's pedestal and walk quickly toward them with a smile, "Welcome to Asgard."

Suddenly, he stopped in front of the pair and looked around bewildered, "Where is Director Fury?"

"Well…" Natasha said, looking over to Clint

"He refused to come," Clint said bluntly

"What?" Thor asked with a raised eyebrow, lowering his hammer at his side, "Why?"

"Well, first of all," Clint replied, "he wasn't keen about the whole 'we can't bring weapons' thing. And second, he said he couldn't come to a place that has a 'rainbow bridge' and take it seriously."

Thor's face just when blank as he stood in confused silence.

"His words...not mine," Clint offered, trying to soften the blow

"Mortals," Haimdall suddenly scoffed in a deep voice above them

# # # # # #

"This is amazing…" Natasha mused as, minutes later, Thor pushed opened the large golden doors to the long marble main hallway that led into the heart of the Valhalla palace and they followed the God inside.

"I'll never understand," Clint suddenly said, taking in their surroundings as they started walking down the hall, "How a place so beautiful yielded a lunatic like your brother."

Thor immediately stopped in his tracks and turned back to face them, causing Clint and Natasha to abruptly stop and take a step back to avoid crashing into him.

"I've said before to be careful how you speak. My brother is no 'monster'." Thor said with serious eyes

Clint opened his mouth to speak, but Natasha stepped forward

"And you forget that I stood face to face with him in the holding area on SHEILD's ship—you didn't hear the things he said, Thor—" Natasha countered, but Thor held up his hand to silence her

"You don't know what happened to Loki, so you cannot judge—"

"And what, might I be so bold to ask, could _possibly_ have happened to him to make him turn his back on his family, attempt to dethrone you and destroy earth in order to rule it?" Clint replied, folding his arms across his chest

Thor took in a breath before he closed his eyes and turned his back on the two Avengers and started walking again.

"The past no longer maters," he said over shoulder, "All that matters now is that he has agreed to help us."

"Well.._.this_ I've gotta see..." Clint whispered to Natasha with an unconvinced smirk as they followed

# # # # # #

_7 months ago… _

_Heila inhaled sharply as she opened her heavy eyelids to see Queen Frigga slowly come in to focus above her. _

_After a few moments, when her vision became clearer, Heila's eyes scanned the rest of the room cautiously, but the second she turned her head, felt a wave of nausea overcome her and she had to close her eyes to steady herself._

"_What happened?" she whispered weakly when she finally re-opened her eyes, all she remembered was standing with Loki on the veranda before he left to work his magic and mischief on Thor after the frost giant attack._

_Frigga smiled kindly as she brushed Heila's red curls aside from her forehead in a motherly gesture._

"_You fainted," she answered, "One of Odin's guards found you on the palace grounds unconscious. He informed me of what happened then brought you here to the healing room." _

_Suddenly, her eyes narrowed in concern, "Have you been unwell lately?" _

"_No," Heila replied, "I've been fine. I can't believe that I fainted. I didn't eat breakfast this morning—that might be—"_

"_Actually," a voice interrupted from nearby and Heila soon saw another face come into view above her next to Frigga, that of one of the Asgardian healers, a tall slender woman in her mid-fifties, with long silver hair, "It seems there is something else it could be or rather __**someone **__else." _

_Heila raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Frigga for a moment before the Queen turned to the healer. _

"_Well?" she prompted_

"_It appears the young woman is with child…" The healer announced, stepping forward and placing her hands strategically over Heila's stomach as her hands glowed, working her magic, "And I would say six weeks by the baby's size and health."_

_Frigga immediately gasped in awed shock, then turned to look down to Heila again, surprising her with the slow smile that now spread across her face._

_Heila's own expression was a mixture of uncertainty and joy. She had been pregnant for almost two months and had no idea…_

"_Now you are little dehydrated and under-nourished for your condition. I'm guessing that had something to do with your little spell," the healer interjected again, her face turning serious, "So I plan to put you on a diet right away and get you some herbs to help with any impending dizziness and nausea. Have you had any other signs and symptoms?" _

"_No," Heila replied, shaking her head slowly, "None. I mean—well, I suppose I've felt a little more tired than usual, but nothing else." _

"_Well, you'll need to take better care of yourself," the healer said, then smiled reassuringly as she pulled her hand away from Heila's stomach as the young woman nodded._

"_I will see that all you require is done," Frigga acknowledged, taking Heila's hand in her own, "But for now, I think it's best that she rests. Will you get what she might need together so that I might escort her back to her room and the comfort of her own bed?" _

"_Of course, your majesty," The healer nodded, then backed away and exited the room_

_When she was out of sight, Heila let out a long sigh as she closed her eyes._

_Frigga only smiled sweetly as she held the young woman's hand tighter in her own, then leaned forward and whispered, "Loki is the father, isn't he?" _

_Heila's eyes immediately opened and softened, "How?—"_

"_Please, my dear, I am not blind. I know how my son feels about you—I've known from the beginning—and I know how willful he is. Though Odin refused to give his consent to him marrying you years ago, I knew Loki would never give you up." _

"_What am I going to do?" Heila whispered, her eyes holding uncertainty_

"_First of all, I think we should get you back to your quarters to rest for the remainder of the day and I'll make you a cup of my famous herbal tea…" Frigga smirked, "Then I think you should break the news to the father-to-be and I will have a nice, long chat with Odin." _

_# # # # # # #_

_His skin had turned blue like a frost giant…_

_Of that he was sure. _

_But how and why…_

_Was it magic? _

_A curse? _

_Surely not…_

_For he knew the ins and outs of both and this didn't fit any spell or curse he had ever used or seen. _

_It had to be something else._

_But the only other alternative was the unthinkable…_

_Loki bit his lip and pondered this as he turned and flexed his left hand in the dim light of the relaxation chamber, standing apart from his friends as they recalled the battle on Jotunheim only a half-hour prior. _

_Then he closed his eyes to steady himself and balled his fist as he felt the surge of mixed emotions course through him as he, himself, remembered all that had happened.  
_

_From his ploy to get his brother to attack Jotunheim..._

_To the Frost giant taking hold of his arm..._

_To their return to Asgard and Thor's banishment…_

"_At least he's banished, not dead," Fandral said, looking around the room at his friends and breaking Loki out of his own thoughts, "Which is what we'd all be if that guard hadn't told Odin where we'd gone." _

"_How did the guard even know?" Volstagg countered, wincing as he watched Hogun rub ash onto his frost burned arm._

"_I told him," Loki suddenly found himself saying_

"_What?" Fandral retorted, turning back to look over his shoulder at Loki _

"_I told him to go to Odin after we'd left." Loki countered, "He should be flogged for taking so long. We should have never reached Jotunheim." _

"_**You**__ told the guard!" Volstagg cried, sitting forward_

"_I saved our lives!" Loki countered, "And Thor's…I had no idea father would banish him for what he did." _

_And it was true. His stomach even lurched a little at the memory of seeing his father strip his brother of his power and cast him out through the bifrost in a burst of light._

"_Loki," Sif said, suddenly leaping up from where she had been sitting on one of the golden side sofas and moving forward to stand in front of him with pleading eyes, "Then, you must go to the All Father and convince him to change his mind."_

"_If I do, then what?" Loki replied defensively, his emotions and insecurities quickly coming to the surface as he spoke not just from his motivations, but his heart, "I love Thor more dearly than any of you, but you know what he is—he's arrogant, he's reckless, he's dangerous. You saw how he was today…" then his eyes scanned the room to the others as he posed his question, "Is that what Asgard needs from its king?"_

_Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and left, walking swiftly through the threshold and out into the grand foyer, leaving the Warriors Three in stunned silence._

_When he finally reached the foyer, he sighed and let his head fall into his hands in anger and dispair._

"_Loki? " a familiar voice soon sounded nearby and the prince quickly lifted his head out of his hands and turned in the direction of the voice, soon coming face to face with his mother and Heila as they walked down the hall arm in arm, approaching him. _

_Loki immediately noticed that Heila looked unwell—paler than she had when they last saw each other. _

_But before he could inquire about her health, his mother broke out of Heila's grasp and rushed toward him and he quickly realized that his face probably reflected much worse._

"_My son…what has happened?" Frigga said, he eyes imploring, "You look anxious, angry and out of sorts." _

_Loki opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself short, closing his eyes as he shook his head and balled his fists at his sides, trying to hold his composure._

_Frigga took a tentative step closer then looked around, sensing something was not right. _

_It was rare for her not to see her boys together._

"_Loki, where is your brother?" she asked in a worried tone_

_Loki immediately opened his eyes and Frigga recoiled as she witnessed the pain brooding there._

"_Thor disobeyed father and went to Jotunheim to see the Frost giants," Loki said, his eyes looking around his mother and locking with Heila's, " and as punishment, father—" suddenly, he broke eye contact and looked back to his mother, "Father banished him to Midgard." _

_There was a moment of tense silence between them before Frigga took a step back_

"_No…" she whispered, her lip trembling, then immediately she took off past Loki, racing down the hall toward the All Father's chambers. _

_Loki turned swiftly to look after her, battling with himself whether to follow her, when he suddenly heard a soft voice behind him._

"_Loki," Heila whispered sympathetically as she stepped forward to comfort him, but Loki immediately walked away before she could reach him, b-lining straight for the other side of the hall._

_And with a loud cry, lifted and overturned two small tables, then smashed a chair against the wall—shattering it into several pieces—before falling to his knees and letting out a guttural scream of rage, sending the few nearby servants running._

_As soon as he fell, Heila ignored her own fatigue and moved swiftly made her way to his side, coming to her own knees in front of him and immediately wrapping her arms around him. _

_He resisted for a moment, but soon relinquished and let himself be held, resting his head on her shoulder as he sobbed. _

"_I had no idea…father…would…" Loki whispered nonsensically, "I only wanted…" _

"_I know," Heila soothed, caressing the back of his neck as she held him close, then pulled back as she attempted to take his face in her hands._

_But, he suddenly recoiled when she touched his skin. Instantly remembering the incident on Jotunheim._

"_**No**__," he said adamantly, shaking his head and quickly pulling away from her like shrapnel, causing her to fall back on her hands, "You shouldn't touch me…I—I could hurt you…They did something to me and—" _

"_What?" Heila implored, searching his wild eyes, "Loki, what are you talking about? I don't—"_

_Loki leaned back on his knees as he brought his left hand up to his face again, staring at it blankly, "On Jotunheim, one of the Frost giants took hold of me and…my skin…" he narrowed his eyes as he trailed off, concentrating hard on his hand as he flexed it._

_Heila quickly shifted forward and took firm hold of Loki's wrist, ignoring his struggle against her as she pulled up the sleeve of his uniform to reveal his perfect porcelain skin. _

_She quirked an eyebrow in confusion as he finally pulled free of her and pulled his sleeve down, "Loki, I don't see __**anything**__…there is nothing there." _

"_No…there was something there," he countered as he quickly stumbled to his feet and stood, his voice breaking and his eyes burning red, "And I have to find out what it is—__**what**__ I am— before I can even be around you again…"_

"_I don't understand…" Heila whispered, looking up to him _

"_The relic room…" he said suddenly in a low voice, his eyes widening in realization, "I'll find my answers there."_

_Then he quickly turned away from her and took off swiftly down the opposite end of the hallway toward the great hall and the side passages that led down to the lower chambers. _

_And all she could do was sit on the floor with his child and watch him walk away._


	6. Chapter 6

As they approached the throne room at Valhalla, the guards standing at attention along the white marble hallways lifted their swords in salute when Thor passed, leading Natasha and Clint through the tall, golden gilded doors as they opened…

# # # # # #

_**7 months ago…**_

_Frigga barely waited for the guards to open the tall gilded doors to the throne room as she hurried through the threshold and crossed the room to the open veranda where the All Father stood in pensive thought, staring out at his kingdom below._

"_How could you have done this?!" Frigga cried angrily as she approached Odin's side_

"_Do you understand what he has set in motion?" Odin retorted harshly as he turned toward her, making Frigga recoil in fear, "He has taken us to the brink of war!" _

"_But, banishment? You would lose him forever?" Frigga replied trying to control her emotions, but failed to do so as she finally shouted, "He's your son!" _

"_And what would you have done?" Odin challenged, his voice heightening with emotion as well_

_"I would not have exiled him to a world of mortals, stripped of his powers to suffer alone," Frigga answered, leaning back defeated against the veranda column behind her, knowing that her answer was what Odin was waiting to hear, "I would not have had the heart…" _

"_And that is why I am king!" Odin countered, throwing his hand on his armor above his heart, then allowed his face to soften, "I too grieve the loss of our son…but, there are some things even I cannot undo." _

_Seeing a moment of weakness, Frigga pounced_

"_You could bring him back—" she started_

"_No!" Odin countered loudly, his fatherly façade now returning to that of the King of Asgard, "His fate is in his own hands now." _

_Then, with a sweep of his cape, he left her presence and she closed her eyes as she listened to his steps as he started back across the throne room._

_But, suddenly and unexpectedly they stopped, and Frigga opened her eyes, turning her head quickly to face husband, who had halted near the reflecting pool in the center of the room and now took her in with weary eyes. _

"_Where is Loki?" he asked in a concerned voice _

_Frigga hesitated for a moment, then answered pointedly, "Why?"_

_Seeing the fear in her face, Odin sighed, then placed his hand over his heart again, but this time in swearing allegiance, "Moon of my life…Goddess of my soul…By the oath I swore to you on the day we were married, I wish no harm to Loki—nor his banishment as well," then he flexed his hand and lowered it to his side as he continued, "I only wish to speak to the boy. He was no doubt upset and confused over what happened to Thor and I only wish to comfort and reassure him." _

"_He's—He's most likely with Heila…" Frigga answered softly, then waited for Odin's reaction_

_She didn't have to wait long_

"_Heila?" Odin whispered, looking down and balling his hands at his sides into fists, then releasing them as he looked up to his wife with stirring eyes, "He defies me still?" _

"_Yes," Frigga answered, pushing off of the column and stepping forward into the room, "But what has he done wrong? He is in love with her, Odin, and has wanted to marry for years—"_

"_And I already told him that she is a lovely, intelligent girl, but an unfit match for an Asgardian heir—"_

"_Even when she carries one?" Frigga countered, the pain and loss of her son causing her to become defiant_

"_What is your meaning?" Odin asked, raising an eyebrow as he stepped forward _

"_She is with child, Odin…" Frigga replied, "Loki's child." _

_Odin took in a deep breath as he stepped back and absorbed this new information._

_Then after a few moments of silence, Frigga stepped closer, studying her husband with worried eyes as she gaged his thoughts. _

"_Say something…" she finally encouraged _

"_Well…" Odin answered, as he met her gaze wearily for a moment, "It's been quite a day." _

_Then turned on his heel and walked swiftly from the room._

_# # # # # # # _

_After what felt like an eternity sitting on the floor of the grand foyer and gathering her thoughts, Heila unwound her legs from beneath her and tried to rise slowly to her feet, but found herself dizzy and immediately stumbled._

_Suddenly, a strong, but gentle hand took hold of her arm to steady her and Heila found herself looking up in to the pale blue eyes of Odin the All Father. _

"_My King…" Heila whispered in an unsteady voice, surprised by his presence as she attempted to bow before him automatically, but nearly lost her balance again_

"_No… that is unnecessary…" Odin smirked catching her once and holding her steady in front of him_

"_As you wish my King," Heila smiled uncertainly, gazing down to Odin's hand still resting on her arm_

"_Have you seen Loki?" Odin asked as his eyes shifted to the destroyed chair and overturned tables on the other side of the hall, "Is he alright? Did he harm you?"_

"_No, my King, I am not harmed, just unwell," Heila replied reassuringly as Odin's eyes met hers again, " And as for Loki, he—he said something about going to the relic room. That he would find the answers he needed there…" _

"_What answers?" Odin asked softly as he gently, but steadily, started walking the peaked looking young woman toward a nearby sofa. _

_Heila sighed when she finally took a seat and Odin released his grip on her_

"_He was quite upset when he left. He said that a frost giant grabbed him on Jotunheim— and that when it did, that his skin turned blue," Heila answered, looking up to the All Father above her, "He said was worried about what that meant…that there might be something **wrong** with him—" _

"_There is nothing wrong with him," Odin said softly, closing his eyes to steady himself, realizing that the day he had dreaded for most of Loki's life had finally come, "Nothing at all...What is happening is not his fault. It is mine." _

"_My King? " Heila asked, intrigued by the All Father's answer and his reaction_

_Odin immediately opened his eyes and regarded the young woman with kindness_

"_I understand that you are with child," he said, studying her_

"_Yes, my King…" Heila answered, looking away shyly, then felt Odin's shadow grow bigger above her as he stepped forward and gently brought a hand to the side of her chin, turning the young woman's gaze back up to meet his._

"_Do you love my son?" he asked, his face serious  
_

"_Yes," Heila answered without hesitation_

"_Good," Odin nodded, slowly pulling his hand away and taking a step back as if preparing to leave her, "For he may soon realize he's someone completely different than he thought he was. He may lose his way and perhaps even himself…and he will need you." _

"_Of course, my King," Heila replied in an unwavering voice, though confused by the meaning of Odin's words, as she attempted to stand from the sofa and bow in his presence._

_Again, Odin stopped her, moving forward and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to keep where she was on the sofa. _

"_If all you say this day before your king is true…then, my darling girl, you bow to **no one**," Odin replied, his eyes soft and kind  
_

_Then without another word, he stepped back and took off down the hall to find Loki. _

_# # # # # # _

"_Is my son in there?" Odin asked as he approached the large, frosted glass doors to the lower chamber_

"_Yes, My King," the guard acknowledged, saluting the All Father as he passed through the glass doors and into the long marble hallway that would lead him to the relic room. _

_His thoughts immediately began swimming as memories of a battle twenty five years ago on Jotunheim flooded his mind…_

_And soon, quicker than he had realized, his feet had carried him to the top of the vaulted chamber and his eyes beheld his son below him, standing before the pedestal that held the casket of Jotunheim, the source of the Frost Giant's power, his hands taking hold of the casket and lifting it. _

_Odin immediately knew in his heart what would happen if the boy touched it and he quickly reacted. _

"_Stop!" he commanded and took a step forward when he saw Loki's movement's still and the Prince lower the casket back to its rightful place. _

"_Am I cursed?" Loki suddenly asked_

_Odin's heart wrenched as he stepped down another step down the stairway into the chamber and toward his son_

"_No," he replied _

"_What am I?" Loki countered, his back still turned toward his father_

"_You are my son," Odin answered truthfully, then watched as Loki slowly turned toward the All Father, his face and hands a slowly fading from where they had once been a bright, icy blue. _

"_What more than that?" Loki implored_


	7. Chapter 7

_**7 months ago…**_

_Odin slowly stepped down another step as he took in a sharp breath, watching as his son slowly began walking back down the long hallway of the relic room, approaching him like a wild animal ready to pounce. _

"_The casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?" Loki asked_

_For the first time in his long life, Odin was speechless. _

_What should he say? _

_How could he make his son understand how he felt about him—how he had __**always**__ felt about him. _

_His fatherly heart swelled, longing to pour itself out to his seemingly confused and hurt son, but his Kingly mind quelled it instantly, refusing to show weakness. _

_Instead, Odin straightened as his son came to a stop at the bottom of the stairway beneath him and decided to spare the sentiment for the time being and simply tell his son the truth. _

"_No," the All Father answered, memories of that day when he first met his infant son instantly entering his mind, "In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple and found a baby… small for a giant's offspring—abandoned, suffering, left to die…Laufey's son." _

_Odin waited as he watched his son absorb this new information—that he was actually he son of Odin's sworn enemy—unloved, unwanted, abandoned—exactly how he felt right at that moment. _

"_Laufey's son…" Loki said softly, looking away as he tried to control his emotions _

"_Yes." Was all Odin could muster in reply, still vowing to himself not to let his own emotion show_

"_Why?" Loki suddenly asked, turning his gaze back to the All Father and Odin's heart wretched at the pain in his son's wet eyes, "You were knee deep in Jotun blood, why would you take me?"_

'_Out of Love…' Odin's heart wanted to say, 'Because the moment I saw you—beautiful, small and helpless—I wanted to keep you safe and care for you… take you home to a mother and a family who would love you.' _

_But, he didn't say that. _

_Instead, the All Father's head overruled his heart once more. _

"_You were an innocent child…" he spoke truthfully, but instantly regretted it when he saw Loki take a step forward, disbelief showing immediately in his face. _

_He knew the All Father was holding something back, but couldn't tell what._

_"No…" Loki interjected, his eyes demanding, "You took me for another purpose, what was it?"_

_Odin immediately fell speechless, his son's entire life flashing before his eyes—good and bad—from infancy to adulthood.  
_

_Deep in his heart, he knew that there was no other reason, but absent thought and his silence only fueled Loki's emotional fire. _

"_Tell me!" Loki finally screamed _

_And Odin was immediately was pulled out of his memories as he sobered himself and gave the only answer he could think of—the answer a King would give. _

"_I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day—bring about an alliance—bring about a permanent peace…through you." _

"_What?" Loki whispered in disbelief and Odin's face crumbled slightly_

"_But, those plans no longer matter…" Odin added, wanting to amend himself and tell Loki that he knew about Heila and the baby and that he wanted to help his son build a future away from the past he now knew would be his burden—that he was fast approaching the Odin Sleep and that, with Thor gone, he needed Loki to take his rightful place as heir to the kingdom, Frost Giant or not—for that didn't matter…not to Odin. It never did. _

_But Loki's pain was too great and before Odin could say anything to comfort the boy as was his original intention, Loki spoke again._

"_So, I'm nothing more than a stolen relic…locked up here until you might have use of me?" he said with a trembling lip_

"_Why do you twist my words?" Odin immediately retorted, hurt by the accusation_

"_You could have told me what I was from the __**beginning**__…why didn't you?" Loki asked, his eyes pleading and his voice cracking_

"_You are my son…" Odin replied, wanting desperately to add 'And I love you.', but didn't._

"_I only wanted only to protect you from the truth," The All Father finished _

"_Why?" Loki retorted and Odin instantly knew that the comment he had just spoken would backfire, "Be—because I-I'm the monster that parents tell their children about at night?" _

_Odin closed his eyes. He knew Loki was no monster—not his beautiful, intelligent, soft-hearted, mischievous boy…_

"_No…" Odin whispered, suddenly feeling physically weak as a dull pain in his chest began to spread throughout his body. _

_He was pretty sure it was his heart breaking…_

_But soon, he realized it was something else entirely as he felt his legs falter beneath him and his body slowly lower onto the stairway._

"_You know it all make sense __**now**__ why you favored Thor all these years…" Loki continued, moving forward as he climbed the steps toward his father, his voice rising._

_Odin looked up to meet his son's gaze—the icy blue meeting the pale, electric green—and it was in that instant that the All Father realized he was going into the Odin Sleep earlier than expected and that he was doing so without relaying his true feelings to his son—without providing any true comfort to him—without touching him or holding him —and he immediately found himself reaching out his hand to Loki as his son finished, "Because no matter how you claim to love me, you could never have Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!" _

_And in that moment, Odin let out a long, defeated breath as he suddenly felt his eyes dilate and focus, blurring his vision of his son above him, before his eyelids finally closed and he fell into the depths of the Odin Sleep… his hand falling to his side, never touching his son._

_Moments later, there was a flash of light and Odin immediately opened his eyes to find himself in the mystical realm of the Odin Sleep. _

_It is said that the Odin Sleep is a time for All Father to not only regain his strength, but to reflect. _

_It was for that reason, and no doubt the subconscious need to make things right with his Loki after what had just transpired in the relic room, that he found himself in a memory from twenty five years before …_

_# # # # # # _

_**King's Chambers, Valhalla Palace—25 years Earlier…**_

_Odin stirred awake in his bed to the distant sound of an infant crying, instinctively throwing his hand gently to the other side of the bed. _

_Finding it empty, he quickly realized that Frigga must be up with the crying baby. _

_As he turned over, he brought his eyes to the open window. _

_It was not yet dawn. _

_Odin sighed as he threw the covers off of himself and sat up from the bed, throwing on his velvet robe and padding across the floor to the bedchamber doors that let out in to the adjoining sitting room. _

_As he crossed the threshold, he saw that the room was empty, but knew his wife and the baby were close by as the crying grew louder as he turned toward the open doors that led out onto the veranda. _

_As he approached slowly, he saw his young wife pacing slowly back and forth in her flowing nightdress on the stone balcony high above the city, bouncing the baby gently in her arms as she tried to quiet him._

_Odin's heart swelled as he watched Frigga with the baby. _

_They had very much wanted another child after Thor was born, but the fates had long decided that it was not meant to be…_

_That is until three days earlier, when Odin had found a baby boy abandoned in a temple in realm of Jotunheim following a great battle against the Frost Giant King Laufey._

"_Shhh…darling…you'll wake the All Father…" she whispered softly, kissing the baby's cheek as she held him close._

"_**His father**__ is already awake," Odin smiled, correcting her as he stepped out onto the veranda and Frigga stopped and quickly turned to face him._

"_Oh…I'm sorry, my Love," Frigga relented, her eyes softening as she watched the King walk toward her, "I came out here as to not disturb you. I know you have council meetings tomorrow—"_

"_I can rest when the Odin Sleep takes me…" Odin smirked reassuringly, waving off his wife's remarks as he came to her side and kissed her cheek softly before looking down at the still crying infant, "Do we know what seems to be wrong with him? Where is the nursemaid?"_

"_Genja woke me," Frigga explained, following Odin's gaze down to the infant, "She said she couldn't get Loki to stop crying. She's given up—"  
_

"_He's a newborn baby. It's normal for him to cry throughout the night," Odin replied, then quipped, "Don't you remember what a terror Thor was at that age?—"_

"_This doesn't feel like colic or hunger or a wet nappy, Odin," Frigga countered, holding Loki close to her as his crying suddenly, escalated, "I think this might be something else. Genja said that he doesn't want to eat or sleep—" then she closed her eyes sadly, "It's like he's uncomfortable here …like he knows we aren't his real parents and this isn't his home—" _

"_Nonsense…" Odin said in a comforting tone, wrapping an arm around her and stroking the baby's head gently._

_Then suddenly, he stopped and pulled back, unwinding his arm from around her shoulder slowly and coming around to face her as he brought his hand to rest on the side of the baby's face.  
_

"_He's very warm," Odin observed, narrowing his eyes _

"_Yes, I know…" Frigga replied, looking down to the baby, "Genja took him to the Healer, but apparently he's not ill." _

"_No…" Odin said, his eyes suddenly lifting in realization, "He's not. I believe you may be right, my wife, he __**does **__know he's not on his home realm and he's having a hard time regulating his temperature because of it. I pulled him from the cold of Jotunheim and that is all his small body knows." _

"_Well, what do we do?" Frigga asked, her eyes worried, "We can't take him back there and we can't very well throw him into a tub of ice water. Perhaps a cool cloth—"_

"_Don't fear. I have an idea…" Odin said softly, then held out his arms, "Here. Give him to me." _

_Frigga raised an eyebrow, but quickly obeyed, shifting the baby in her arms and started to hand him to Odin. _

"_Without the blankets," The All Father suddenly interjected and Frigga immediately peeled the blankets from the infant, then watched her husband reach forward and lift the baby from her arms._

"_There we are…" Odin smiled as he lifted the whimpering infant into his arms, resting the baby against his shoulder as he turned to his wife, "Now, go to my dressing chambers and retrieve my armor—"_

"_What?" Frigga replied, taken aback, "But I can't bring all of it. It's too heavy—"_

"_Then just bring my chest plate… go…" Odin encouraged with a wink as he started to pace with the baby himself, then watched her fold up the baby blankets in her arms as she walked back through the threshold, disappearing into the palace chambers. _

"_Oh… Loki…__min __søte __gutt…" he whispered in his native tongue as the infant continued to cry against his father's shoulder, "Sha… Sha…Sha… my beloved boy…Papa's here…"_

_Moments later, Frigga returned, holding her husband's silver chest plate as Loki's crying volume began to lower as he listened to his father's voice. _

_As the boy settled, Odin handed the baby gently to Frigga with one arm as he took the armor from her with the other, setting it at his feet as he quickly removed his robe and tossed it aside. _

_He then picked up the armor and fitted it over his nightclothes. _

_Frigga smirked at the awkwardness of the whole thing, then, when Odin was ready, she handed the now whimpering baby back to the All Father when he beckoned her to do so, watching with awe as the All Father moved toward a nearby sofa on the veranda and sat down, positioning himself slowly as he laid back against the pillows and rested the infant gently on its upper chest against the cold metal. _

_Loki instantly stopped crying, then after few tense moments, he began cooing, relishing the armor that seemed to still retain, albeit days later, the magical cold of Jotunheim. _

_Frigga breathed a sigh of relief at the sound, sharing a small smile with Odin as she picked up the robe from the ground and walked forward, gently laying the robe over top of her two boys. _

"_Go rest, my love," Odin said softly as she kneeled by his side, "I'll stay with him until morning." _

"_Are you certain?" Frigga replied, leaning close, stroking the baby's back gently_

"_I'm certain," Odin nodded,  
_

"_Good night, then," Frigga answered, knowing better than to argue with a King of Asgard, as she kissed him softly on the lips, then kissed Loki's head and stood, sweeping through the threshold back into the palace. _

_A few moments of silence passed as Odin rested his chin on his collar bone and studied his infant's son's face—the baby laying with his cheek on his father's armor as he looked back up at Odin._

"_That's better isn't it?" Odin smirked, pulling the robe a little higher over himself and the baby, "I know it's not the cold of Jotunheim, but it's the only thing the All Father could muster on such short notice." _

_The baby hiccuped, then smiled at his father._

"_I hope you enjoy growing up here," Odin whispered, leaning forward and resting his lips on the crown of his son's head, then kissing it, "I know it will be hard, but you'll never be alone. You'll always have your brother, and your mother—she's really fond of you, you know—and me. I'll always be there for you, too. And I can't wait to teach you so many things…" _

_Loki cooed as he turned and rolled under Odin's grasp, reaching a small hand up toward the night sky._

"_Ahh…you like those?" Odin smiled, as he shifted the baby in his arms so they could both view the sky, "I'm a fan myself. I've charted them for years, as did my father before me. Those are star constellations, Loki. See that?" he said pointing up to the formation of stars above them and to the left of the moon, "That is Nidhogg, the great serpent. Made up of nineteen stars, it's one of the biggest constellations. What do you think?" _

_Loki smiled and flailed his arms excitedly._

"_And that's Ratatosk...And Dadvlin," Odin pointed out, moving his hand across the sky and watching Loki's eyes widen, "There are so many more, my son, and they all come at different times and in different seasons...and I'll show them all to you..." _

_# # # # # # # _

Odin smirked sadly as his fingers gently caressed the hand-made star charts lying scattered on the large wooden table in his personal chambers behind the great hall, then closed his eyes for a moment and re-opened them, his mind taking him back to another time and place, remembering when Loki, as a young boy, would come into that very chamber every night and crawl on the All Father's lap and together, they would look out through the large picture window and map the constellations.

_"What's that bright one?" Loki once asked when he was about eight years of age, raising a hand to point out a new constellation and Odin sat forward in his chair, wrapping a strong arm around his son as he rested his chin on the crown of Loki's head._

_"That…" Odin said softly, "Is Polaris, the North Star. My own father used to say that the brightest stars were the spirits of the great Kings of old—steady, unwavering—a guide for their generations of their ancestors. Just, remember, my son, that you are never alone as long as the North Star is your guide. You can bring it your troubles and when you are lost, it will always show you the way home…"_

"My Lord," a voice sounded nearby and Odin was quickly pulled out of his thoughts, the vision of his time with his young son immediately fading into memory as he turned and looked over his shoulder at the young Odinheim guard in full armor who now bowed in his presence, "Thor and the Midgardians await you in the throne room."

# # # # #

Loki sniffed as he pulled his cheek back from where it rested against Heila's and opened his eyes to once again behold his true love's face where she lay below him in the glass coffin, then took in a staggered breath as his eyes caught sight of the pendent she **still** wore around her neck on a white ribbon.

He had given it to her when they were children and she had worn it ever since…

Even when he had left her...

Even when he had lost his way...

Loki smirked sadly as he released his long fingers from where they had entwined in hers and brought them up to caress the golden pendent resting just under her collarbone.

It was of Polaris, the North Star.


	8. Chapter 8

"Welcome to Asgard…" Frigga smiled, holding Nari close to her chest as she stood from where she was sitting at the edge of the reflecting pool and greeted Natasha and Clint as they entered the otherwise empty throne room at Thor's side.

"Clint, Natasha…" Thor said in a formal voice as they came to a halt just feet from Frigga, "May I present my mother, Queen Frigga of Asgard."

"Ma'am," Clint said in formal acknowledgement, then bowed his head, causing Natasha to follow suit with an unsure little curtsey of her own and a half-smile.

"Thank you both," Frigga smiled at their gestures in her presence, "That is very kind, but unnecessary. It is a great pleasure. My son has told me much about you and the bravery of you and your friends."

"Aww, Thor…" Clint teased with a smirk, turning toward the God of Thunder, "You shouldn't have…"

"Who said it was _Thor_ who said such things?" Frigga suddenly countered

"What?" Natasha replied, quirking an eyebrow

"I second that comment..." Clint added, puzzlement quickly crossing his face as well

"Loki is in prison, not _dead_," Frigga explained, "And I visit him from time to time... when he'll see me, that is. He has told me of many things that transpired on Midgard…Though, I admit, much of it was difficult to hear…"

Her face immediately fell with sadness and Clint and Natasha shared a brief look for a moment before Natasha quickly changed the subject, turning to the baby in the Queen's arms.

"And who might this be?" she asked, manufacturing a smile as she took a step closer

"This is Nari," Thor interjected as he moved forward and took the baby gently from Frigga, "Prince and heir to the throne of Asgard."

"He's beautiful," Natasha smiled, taking hold of the baby's hand and causing the infant to focus happy, wide and curious eyes on her, "I had no idea you had a son."

"Nari is not mine—" Thor began, but was soon interrupted by a voice nearby

"He is the son of the reigning King of Asgard," Odin said, suddenly appearing behind them as he walked through the threshold, causing them all to turn and focus their attention on him.

"My friends," Thor said formally, "May I present Odin, the All Father—"

"No need to stand on ceremony, my son," Odin said waiving Thor off as he approached the group

"Wait…" Clint said, looking from Thor, then back to Odin, "I'm confused…Nari is _yours?"_

"No," Odin smiled, "My time has passed. I am not who you seek in that regard."

"Loki is Nari's father," Frigga answered, finding her voice again and Natasha and Clint immediately shared a shocked look, "And the ruling King of Asgard."

"_What?!"_ Natasha suddenly cried, unable to contain her surprise as she quickly spun back around to face Thor, "How is that possible?"

Thor opened his mouth to speak, but the All Father answered first

"According to the Asgardian rules of succession," Odin interjected, "With Thor, my first born, banished, Loki was made King in my stead when I fell into the Odin Sleep. I am an old man and no longer have the neither the will power, nor the stamina to be ruler of Asgard. So, when I awoke, I planned to formally install Loki as King—however misguided his actions—but, then, Loki fell from the Bifrost and we believed him dead… Naturally, I, as steward, chose a new King."

Odin's eyes shifted to Thor and the God of Thunder immediately picked up the story.

"But, I have not yet succeeded my brother," Thor added, remembering his conversation with his brother on Earth months before when Loki threatened to unleash the power of the tesseract.

'_Who showed you this power? Who controls the 'would-be King'?" Thor asked, angrily_

'_I am a King!' Loki cried_

'_Not here!' Thor replied harshly_

"He reappeared, alive on Earth before I was named ruler in his stead…" Thor continued, "And by rule of succession…"

"Loki is _still_ King of Asgard…" Clint suddenly realized, scoffing with an uncertain smirk

"How could we have not known this?" Natasha whispered

"All S.H.E.I.L.D's intelligence told us was that the hostile threat we're facing once fought the reigning Asgardian King," Clint replied, "That's why Fury must have contacted Thor. Because apparently, only the Asgardian King knew how to defeat him—"

"And he _does,"_ Thor interjected, "I'm sure of it. I was there five years ago when they first met. I know what Loki can do. We just have to trust—"

"_Trust Loki_?" Natasha scoffed, "Have you lost your mind?"

"It's debatable," Thor admitted, "But, right now he may be the only way to save _both_ of our realms and while I may, or may not trust _him_, I trust his motivations and I believe his intentions to help us to be sincere—"

"_Sincere?"_ Clint countered angrily, "How can you believe anything he says? Especially after all that he's done..."

"Because he's family-because he's my brother and because I still have to have hope for his redemption…" Thor replied, then looked down to Nari in his arms, "And because he now has something worth fighting for—something worth changing for—something worth _living _for…"

There was a moment's pause before Thor looked up to Natasha and Clint again, "My friends, forgive me. I did not mean to deceive you or bring you here under any false pretenses, I only told you that you would be having an audience with the King of Asgard and that he had agreed to help us…I never said that the King was Odin, the All Father. S.H.E.I.L.D thought it best that you not know the circumstances until you arrived."

"What about Director Fury?" Natasha asked pointedly, "Does he know about all this?"

"No," Odin replied, suddenly interjecting, "He does not."

"Well, that'll be a fun one to explain when we arrive back on Earth with Loki, 'King of Asgard' in tow…" Clint mused with a smirk

# # # # # #

_**7 months ago…**_

_Loki gave his mother an uncertain smile as he took a seat in one of the gilded chairs across from her at the All Father's bedside as Odin peacefully slumbered under a canopy of Asgardian magic. _

"_I asked him to be honest with you from the beginning…" Frigga said, seemingly knowing what weighed on her son's troubled mind, "There should be no secrets in a family."_

_Loki looked to his sleeping father pensively for a moment before meeting his mother's gaze across the bed as he thought of his Father's revelation about his son's parentage, "So why did he lie?"_

"_He kept the truth from you so that you would never feel different," Frigga answered honestly, "You are our son, Loki…and we your family…you must know that…"  
_  
_She watched Loki absorb her words for a few moments, then spoke again._

"_You can speak to him," she encouraged, "He can see and hear us, even now." _

"_How long will it last?" Loki asked, knowing that after their fight in the relic room, there was nothing more to say to his father now.  
_

"_I don't know," Frigga replied, "This time it's different. We were unprepared." _

"_I never get used to seeing him like this," Loki said with a trembling voice, eying his father lying before him and remembering the handful of other times in his young life his father had gone into the Odin Sleep, "The most powerful being in the nine realms…lying helpless…until his body is restored." _

"_And he's put it off for so long now…that I fear…" Frigga said, taking Odin's hand in hers as she closed her eyes and trailed off, stopping herself from saying the unthinkable._

_After a moment's pause, she finally continued, opening her eyes and looking across Odin to meet Loki's gaze._

"_You are a good son. We mustn't lose hope that your father will return to us…__**and **__your brother…" _

_Loki recoiled for a moment at her words, then sat forward, "What hope is there for Thor?" _

"_There is always a purpose to everything your father does," his mother reassured him and Loki's eyes immediately glossed over as he remembered his conversation with Heila on the palace veranda hours before and some of her parting words to him —'Just believe that there is a plan to everything your father does and doesn't do…'_

_Suddenly, his thoughts strayed to her and he knew he had to go to her…_

_She must be confused and worried about him. _

_He had pushed her away…_

_And now that he knew the truth about himself, about what he was, all he wanted was nothing more than to feel her arms around him, especially after all that had transpired with Thor and Odin, and hear her counsel in his ear._

"_Thor may yet find a way home," Frigga added, suddenly breaking Loki from his thoughts as mixed emotions surged through him all at once—worry, hope, jealously, anger…_

_In an effort to hide his emotions and keep them from spreading across his face where his mother could read them, he bowed his head in thought for a moment, then decided to leave._

_He had to find Heila._

_Suddenly, without another word, he stood and turned on his heel to leave, but didn't make it across the room before the tall, gilded doors to the All Father's chambers opened ceremoniously and a line of Asgardian knights came to attention just outside the threshold and saluted Loki, kneeling before him._

_Loki stood in stunned awe at the sight as the King's sentinel soon marched into view, passing the knights and wielding the King's scepter in his hands. He entered the chamber somberly, soon falling to his knees obediently before Loki as he held the golden scepter up to him.  
_

_The young Prince furrowed his eyebrow in confusion and immediately looked back over his shoulder at Frigga for guidance. _

"_Thor is banished. The line of succession falls to you," Frigga said, giving her assurance, "Until Odin awakens…Asgard is yours." _

_Loki immediately took in a sharp breath as Frigga's words sunk in, then he straightened as he turned back to face the sentinel, tentatively lifting the King's scepter into his own hands as Odin's birds cawed in the background, seeming to signal their approval. _

_As the sentinel stood and backed away, Loki smirked as he gripped the scepter tightly in his hands—seeming to feel its power surge through him as he turned to now face his Mother as the reigning King of Asgard._

"_My King…" Frigga acknowledged in a soft voice, nodding her head in allegiance to her son._

_# # # # # _

_When she heard her chamber doors open, Heila immediately stood from where she had been sitting on the end of her bed and looked up to see Loki appear in the threshold holding Odin's golden scepter. _

_The guards who had accompanied him, quickly bowed and left his side, closing the doors and leaving them to stare at each other in silence for a few moments. _

_Finally, Heila crossed the room slowly, coming within a few feet of Loki as their eyes continued to search each other—both seemingly cautious and unsure of what to say._

"_Long live the King..." she finally whispered breaking the silence as she bowed low in his presence, secretly amazed that she was able to keep her balance due to her condition_

"_No…" Loki suddenly whispered, his face crumbling as he swiftly tossed the scepter down onto the marble floor and quickly closed the distance between them, falling to his knees and taking her face into his hands as he crashed his lips against her passionately._

_After their lips tangled for a few moments, Loki released his hold on her and leaned up and kissed her forehead._

"_I'm sorry…" he said softly against her skin as his voice broke, "I'm sorry I just left you like that…"_

"_It doesn't matter…" Heila replied, pulling back to look into his eyes, but all she saw was pain and confusion and the tears that began to well, "Are you alright?"_

"_No. I need my star…I need my guide," he whispered, looking down and bringing his hand to caress the pendent resting around her neck_

"_Loki?" Heila asked, confused as she followed his gaze down to his hand on her necklace_

"_I'm—I'm lost, Heila," he whispered, shaking his head, "I'm not who I thought I was…" _

"_Who did you think you were?" she asked, reaching up and taking the hand resting on her necklace into her own gently_

"_Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard," Loki said, closing his eyes in pain, then opened them to look at their entwined hands, "Son of Odin and Frigga, brother of Thor, magician and sworn Asgardian soldier and defender of the Nine Realms."_

"_And…who are you now?" Heila continued, trying to understand his meaning_

_Loki quickly looked up and brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it, then sighed._

"_I'll show you," he said softly as he stood and helped her to her feet, then keeping their hands entwined, led her toward the doorway._


	9. Chapter 9

_**((Thank you all for your follows, kind comments, and constructive criticism regarding the story. It is much appreciated. I thought I would come back from holiday haitus with something different and new. I have some musicfic lovers out there who have asked that I do one for this fanfiction since I've done it for my others. So, here you go. This will be the one and only though, unless stated by popular demand. The song featured in this chapter is "Say Something" by one of my favorite artists A GREAT BIG WORLD. You can listen to it here: watch?v=spVfeowkvoY. And don't worry, I'm working on the next chapter currently. I won't leave you hanging. But, this chapter had some hard hit emotion in it, so it really needed to stand alone. **__****__**Hope you all have a prosperous new year and thanks again for reading.**_ ))  


"I love you…and I'm sorry…" Loki whispered as looked down at Heila's pale and still face, stroking the dark red curls from her forehead, "I'm _so _sorry. I should have never let you go. I—I should have chosen differently…" Then his posture straightened as he took in a deep, resolved breath, thinking of his newborn son and the promise he made to his brother in the cave prison, "But, I'm choosing differently _now_ …and hope one day, when you and I are reunited in the halls of our fathers, it will be enough to earn your forgiveness."

Then, he leaned forward, giving her one last lingering kiss on her lips as he reached his hand behind her neck and unclasped her necklace, pulling the North Star pendant into the palm of his hand.

After a few moments, he lifted himself and stood, gazing upon Heila one last time before he finally nodded to Maakar and watched as the Asgardian centurion stepped forward and slid the lid closed on the glass casket.

After the bed of roses were replaced, Maakar turned to face Loki.

"What is thy will, My Lord?" Maakar asked, bowing his head slightly

"I wish you to lead me back to my brother," Loki said holding out his chained arms for the guard to take hold, "We have work to do."

# # # # # #

_**7 months ago…**_

_Loki silently led Heila down the long hall inside the relic room of the Valhalla palace as the young woman's dark eyes quickly and curiously scanned the objects in the All Father's extensive collection—all of them carefully arranged and displayed on pedestals along both sides of the corridor._

_Suddenly, she felt Loki slow and gently release his hold on her hand, causing her attention and focus to leave the objects and return to him. _

_She watched with interest as he now stepped toward a pedestal at the forefront of the hall's end. _

_It was tall and gray, with what looked like a large cube upon it. _

"_The casket of Jotunheim," Loki announced in a low, reverent voice as he approached the object. _

_Heila immediately took note that it looked almost other-worldy with its metallic engravings and glowing blue hue—a fact that didn't seem to faze the Asgardian prince as he moved forward and took hold of the side of the cube with sure hands._

"_Loki…wait…" Heila said, taking an apprehensive step forward, "What are you doing?" _

"_You'll see…" Loki replied, his voice almost tinged with sadness and his back still turned to her as he lifted the cube into his hands, "You'll see what I truly am."_

_Moments passed that seemed like an eternity before Heila finally heard him lower the cube back onto the pedestal, then hesitantly turned back to face her. _

_Heila took in a sharp startled breath as she beheld the now ice blue hue of Loki's face, neck, lower arms and hands and the runic impression marks that covered them._

"_Jotun magic did this to you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in curiosity_

_Loki straightened and his eyes softened, seemingly surprised that she didn't screamed and/or run from the room right then at the very sight of him._

_Part of him was relieved. _

_But another part was not.  
_

"_Yes," he finally whispered as he watched her take a tentative step toward him_

"_That's why your skin changed color when the Frost giant grabbed you on Jotunheim…" she reasoned to herself as she studied him and his new features, "You're one of them…you're a frost giant."_

"_Yes," he admitted, as the blue in his skin began to fade away _

_There was a moment's pause as Heila seemed to search her thoughts, then took another step toward him, her eyes raising to meet his head on. _

"_How?" she asked softly, "How is this possible?" _

"_It's simple. I was born of Jotunheim, __not__ Asgard. I was adopted," Loki explained, his eyes darkening, "Odin told me. He pulled me from there after he killed my family and forced my biological father into submission—"_

"_Laufey…" Heila suddenly whispered, her eyes widening, "You're Laufey's son…" _

_Loki took in a sharp breath and nodded, trying to fight the tears that began to well in his eyes_

"_Loki…" Heila soothed, reaching out to him and taking his hand, "It doesn't matter...none of it…not to me…"_

"_No! Don't say that," Loki said sharply, pulling out of her grasp and turning his back on her, "That—that just makes it __worse!__"_

"_What?" Heila asked, taken aback by his reaction_

_"It's like you're alright with it—"_

"_But, I am…I __have__ to be," Heila retorted, her eyes pained as she reached again for him, "I love you, Loki—"_

"_Even if I'm a monster," Loki shot back quickly, spinning back around to face her_

"_Yes!" Heila said adamantly, walking swiftly toward him and taking his face in gently in her hands, "Even then! But, you are no monster, Loki—"_

"_Don't deceive yourself," Loki said softly, his face saddening as he brought his hands up to hers where they still rested on the sides of his face, "I'm a mischief maker, but I could do worse…much worse…I know that what I'm capable of. I know the darkness of my own mind—"_

"_Only if you allow yourself to go down that path," Heila countered_

"_I am already __down that path__!" Loki said, wriggling out of her grasp and his voice rising with anger as he swept his arm out to gesture to the objects around the room on their pedestals, "A path that began when Odin brought me here to keep me like one of his stolen relics."  
_

"_No…" Heila said narrowing her eyes in confusion, "I don't believe that…" _

"_When he groomed my idiotic, narcissistic brother for the throne," Loki scoffed, ignoring her comments, "While I was cast aside until the day I might be of some use to him—"_

"_Loki, I understand you are angry and confused, but your father loves you and—"_

"_Odin is __not __my father!" Loki screamed, his lip trembling_

"_He doesn't know that," Heila retorted, "To him, you have_ _always_ _been his son—his flesh and blood, Loki—and he's treated you as such from infancy. You mean so much to him, Loki, you just choose not to see it. Instead, all you can see are these imagined slights-" _

"_They are not imagined…" Loki said venomously under his breath_

"_Thor is first born," Heila reasoned, "And it is no secret that Odin has always given him favor—trained him and educated him—that's the way it works, Loki, the way it has __always __worked in Asgard for generations. Thor is to be King by Asgardian law, but—"_

_"Asgardian law...Asgardian Law!" Loki mocked, "Who am I to follow 'Asgardian Law', I'm not an Asgardian!" _

_"Yes, you are!" Heila countered, "You are as much of an Asgardian as I am-as anyone-"_

_Suddenly, Loki threw up a hand to silence her._

"_Can you just-can you just…be on my side?" Loki he said in a defeated voice then sighed, a tear falling down his cheek as he tried to calm himself, "I've lost my way, Heila and I need guidance right now, not another lecture."_

"_I am always on your side, Loki…" Heila said, biting her lip as she stepped forward, "I am on your side as long as you'll have me…" _

_Loki closed his eyes and relented as she reached for him once more and put her arms around him, pulling him into an embrace and burying her face into his shoulder. _

"_I need my star…" he whispered, reaching up and stroking her flaming red curls, "I need my guide." _

"_I'm always here for you, you know that… but I'm just a touchstone, Loki," she said, pulling back gently to face him and looking down to the pendant around her neck, then raising her eyes to meet his, "Your real North Star is out there and it has been your whole life…and it will guide you even now if you would only listen—if you would put aside your anger and your grief and see it for what it truly is…" _

"_I…what?" Loki whispered, narrowing his eyes as he tried to sort out what she was trying to say._

"_The All Father…" Heila smiled, "The All Father is your North Star and always has been, Loki, don't you see? He found you and guided you to your true home, to a family who would love you and care for you and he raised you to be a good soldier, a good man—"  
_

"_No…" Loki retorted, his nostrils flaring, shaking his head _

"_It's true, Loki," Heila said sternly, "He's guided you your whole life and it was only recently when you discovered the truth of your origins that you became lost and in need of direction, am I right?"_

_"Stop!" _

_"No," Heila replied, "I will not. You need to hear this...Even after all that happened, he still wanted to guide you, like he's always guided you…He told me so himself before he fell into the Odin sleep."_

_Loki just stared at her, his lip trembling._

"_Loki…" she implored, "Go to him. Even in the Odin Sleep he can hear you. Make amends. You will see that all of this hate, anger and mistrust you are feeling is unfounded. Let your family comfort you—don't shun them—"_

"_You don't understand how this feels!" Loki shouted, causing Heila to step back, "They aren't my family!" _

"_Then go to Jotunheim," Heila shot back, "Find your other family if you feel so out of place here. Find out who you truly are, if that will quell your rage. But, don't just hide behind your feelings…do something about them."_

"_Oh, I will…" Loki said, his eyes turning dark, "First I'm going to destroy Laufey and those abominable Jotuns!"_

"_Loki…" Heila said softly, abhorred by what she was hearing_

"_Then, I'm going to ensure that my brother never returns to Asgard and that my rule is a prosperous one—so much so, that when the All Father awakens, he sees that I am not just the bastard cast-off of a Frost giant, but a born ruler of the nine realms."  
_

"_Loki, don't say such things…" Heila said, "This isn't you." _

"_You know, I think for the first time in my life I truly __am__ me…" Loki countered_

_Heila took a step back, studying him with incredulous eyes for a moment before bringing her hand to her stomach. _

_She opened her mouth to tell Loki that he was wrong. _

_She knew that the man she fell in love with-Loki Odinson-was still in there somewhere. _

_She wanted to tell him about the baby and that he needn't feel lost or without family because __they__ could be his family. _

_But she also knew that he was serious about what he said. That by his actions and the words he spoke to her, there was a part of him that was broken—something that loving him and standing by him, would not fix alone._

_He needed guidance. _

_He needed Odin. _

_She decided right then and there that she wouldn't tell him about the baby. That could wait. _

_She would call his bluff._

_And she would be ready to back it up if necessary if that's what it took to save him._

"_Well, if all you say is true, then I cannot stay with you." _

"_What?" Loki whispered in shock_

"_You heard me. If this is how it is to be—if you are going to do this to yourself and those you love—if you are going to destroy an entire race of people so that you can wear the hollow crown of a king, then I'm leaving, Loki," she said, then stopped and took a breath, "Unless…you can give me a reason to stay."_

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you…**_

_Loki shifted his stance and opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly stopped himself, his eyes pained as he closed his mouth again, keeping any words he was about to offer to himself._

_**I'll be the one if you want me to.**_

_Heila closed her eyes as she felt her heart wrench and leap into her throat, but quickly swallowed it down as she opened her eyes again and focused them on the reigning King of Asgard. _

_He had made his choice and sadly, it wasn't her. _

_Her only hope now was if he would follow her when she turned and left._

"_Goodbye," she whispered, her face crumbling, then turned swiftly on her heel as she started quickly back down the hallway toward the entrance to the relic room._

_**Anywhere I would have followed you…**_

_Loki stepped forward immediately to follow her, reaching a hand out to her, but immediately stopped himself and quickly pulled it into a balled fist at his side._

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you.**_

_Heila walked quickly and absentmindedly down the main hall of the Valhalla palace as she wrapped one arm around herself as if to hold her broken body and soul together and placed her free hand on the lower part her stomach as if to sooth her child._

_**And I Am feeling so small…**_

_**It was over my head—I know nothing at all.**_

_Loki cursed himself—unsure of his bearings—unsure of his true self—as he wrung his hands slowly and stared at the glowing blue cube of the Jotunheim casket on the pedestal before him._

_**And I will stumble and fall…**_

_After a few moments, Loki finally closed his eyes and relented, allowing himself to finally turn away from the casket and break out into a run down the hallway and out of the relic room after Heila._

_**I'm still learning to love, just starting to crawl.**_

_Heila sighed as she closed the bedchamber doors and leaned back against the wood, finally allowing the tears to come and the sobs to leave her chest as she broke down._

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you…**_

_**I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you …**_

_Loki swiftly turned the corner of the main hall toward the royal quarters, nearly knocking down a group of servants with piles of freshly washed linen in their arms. _

_**Anywhere I would have followed you…**_

_He slowed just as he reached Heila's bedchamber doors, stopping in front of them._

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you.**_

_Tentatively, he raised his right hand and placed it on the wood, unsure what to do next._

_**And I…**_

_Heila suddenly felt a presence come over her, as if sensing someone behind her through the door, and she immediately composed herself, controlling her sobs and wiping under her eyes as she turned to face the wood._

_It had to be Loki. _

_He had come after all._

_Taking in a deep breath, she placed one hand on the wood and allowed the other one to reach for the door knob…_

_**Will swallow my pride…**_

_Loki took in a deep breath as he moved closer to the doors and with his free hand reached for the door knob and turned it …_

_**You're the one that I love…**_

_At that very same moment, without a moment's hesitation, Heila turned the knob on her side and opened the door to the hallway…_

_Only to find it empty._

_**And I'm saying goodbye.**_

_Loki threw open the door only to find the bedroom chamber empty…_

_Heila wasn't there._

_But something else was and it was lying on the marble floor where Loki had left it…_

_Odin's Scepter._

_The scepter of the King of Asgard._

_**Say something, I'm giving up on you…**_

_Heila leaned against the door frame of the open door, her tears swiftly and furiously coming back to her as she turned on her side and slid to the floor._

_**And I'm sorry I couldn't get to you…**_

_Loki's nostrils flared as he knelt down on the cold marble and took Odin's scepter into his hands, then stood and wielded it to his side._

_**And anywhere is where I would have followed you…**_

_He then looked around the room with sad eyes for a few moments._

_**Saying something I'm giving up on you.**_

_Then, without ceremony, Loki swiftly exited the room, closing the door behind him._

_**Say something I'm giving up on you…**_

"_My Lady…"_

_Heila immediately looked up, suddenly pulled out of her grief by the voice of the All Father's man servant, whose shadow now loomed above her in the doorway. _

"_What are you doing in the All Father's bedchambers?" he asked with a quizzical brow_

_**Say something…**_

_Heila sniffed and looked over her shoulder sadly at the large bed in the center of the room where Odin, the All Father, slept soundly under a dome of Asgardian magic, then turned her wet gaze upon the servant again. _

"_I was waiting on someone to find his way here…" she said softly, bringing her hand to rest over her stomach with a sad smile, "But he got lost."_

_# # # # # _

_The Lady Sif, in full Asgardian armor, quickly entered the palace throne room with the Warriors Three trailing close behind. _

"_All Father! We must speak with you urgently!" she said boldly to the figure sitting on the golden Agardian throne. _

_Suddenly, she slowed her approach, her dark eyes widening as they took notice that it's not the All Father sitting before them.  
_

"_My Friends…" Loki acknowledged from the golden chair, wearing his full Asgardian royal dress_

"_Where is Odin?" Fandral asked_

"_Father has fallen into the Odinsleep," Loki replied, holding his composure, "Mother fears he may never awaken again…" _

"_We would speak with her—" Sif began, but Loki quickly interjected_

_"__She has refused to leave my father's bedside. You can bring your urgent matter to me…" he replied solemnly, placing a hand on his chest before rising slowly and stoically from the throne with Odin's scepter in his hand at his side, "Your King."_

_._


	10. Chapter 10

_**(Thanks for reading everyone. Snow has been falling like crazy here and we've been snowed it. I'm hoping that this gets my creative juices flowing and the chapters will keep coming at a steady rate! :) Enjoy! The song Thor sings in this chapter is "Song of Exile" and it is recorded beautiful by Rota Temporis. Have a listen to a version of it watch?v=cZWBDEhScNo)**_

Frigga immediately stopped as she saw her son approach, led in chains through the marble foyer by one of Odin's the centurion guards.

"Loki…" Frigga whispered, a small smile coming to her face as their eyes met

"Where is Thor?" Loki asked as the distance closed between them

"He went to put Nari down," Frigga replied, her eyes searching her son's pale face as she stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Loki's arm, "Are you alright?"

Loki only nodded solemnly

A silence fell between them as Frigga seemed lost in her study of him

Then, after a few moments, she took in a breath and seemed to regain her senses

"The All Father is hosting some acquaintances of yours from Midgard in the Great Hall. You should make an appearance…" she implored, tightening her encouragingly on Loki's arm, "Come and eat something. I know that there are a great many things they wish to discuss with you…"

Loki smirked uncertainly, then looked past her to the hall that led to the royal chambers

Frigga followed Loki's gaze for a moment, then squeezed his arm again as she turned back, another small smile crossing her face, realizing there was someplace else he would rather be.

"Go…" she said with a relenting sigh as Loki's eyes moved to meet hers softly

# # # # # # #

Loki smiled slightly as he quietly approached the connecting doorway in his old bedchambers that led into what was once his sitting room, but was now a nursery, and listened to his brother in the room with his son.

"Shhh…" Thor soothed as he held Nari close to his chest, rubbing the baby's back to sooth him as he fussed, "It's time to sleep…"

Loki cautiously peeked around the threshold to see his brother pacing across the room with the baby in his arms.

"Except, you don't seem to think so, do you?" Thor smirked, shifting the infant so that he was now laid out along his forearm facing him, his head cradled gently in Thor's hand, "What would you say to a song?"

The baby cooed and flailed his arms in response and Thor chuckled

"_Ahh…_" he mused, quirking an eyebrow, "You like the idea of your uncle making a fool out of himself, don't you? Hmm…Then, it seems you are indeed your father's son."

Nari just smiled and his eyes widened as Thor leaned close to him and whispered, "Just keep in mind that I may be a bit rusty. I only sing on _very_ special occasions…" then he shrugged, "Or if I'm blistered from too much drink."

Loki bit his lip to stifle his laughter and looked over his shoulder to Maakar, who had a similar response.

Thor pulled back and narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, seeming to pull a song from his repertoire, then smiled as he began to move his arm gently back and forth as his free hand came to rest on his nephew's stomach reassuringly.

"This is a warrior's hymn," Thor said softly as the baby's eyes focused intently on him and his voice, "It was always _your _father's favorite— one that our own father used to sing it to us when we were young."

Loki's face fell and his heart swelled as he immediately knew to which song his brother was referring and he listened intently as Thor clear his throat then began to sing in a melodic tone.

"Land of Bear and land of eagle…Land that gave us birth and blessing… Land that called us ever homewards…We will go home across the mountains."

Loki closed his eyes as he listened to Thor sing the refrain.

"We will go home, we will go home… We will go home across the mountains. We will go home, we will go home…We will go home across the mountains."

A thousand memories suddenly flashed through Loki's mind as his brother continued to sing…

"Land of freedom, land of heroes…"

Thor and Loki helping their father put on his armor as boys and Odin smiling as he playfully put his helmet on Loki's head…

Odin holding their hands as he walked them through the relic room and showed them his war treasures…

"Land that gave us hope and memories…"

Thor and Loki chasing each other through the palace as children…

Haimdall teaching them sword fighting as teenagers…

"Hear our singing, hear our longing… We will go home across the mountains."

Thor and Loki laughing and embracing in the Great Hall, drinking mead with their friends…

"We will go home, we will go home…We will go home across the mountains. We will go home, we will go home…We will go home across the mountains."

Loki opened his eyes as a tear fell down the side of his face and he looked down to his hand as he opened it and studied Heila's North Star pendant resting in his palm.

"Land of sun and land of moonlight..."

Loki closed his eyes again and felt Odin's strong arms around him as he sat on his father' lap as a boy and charted the stars with him…

He remembered lying next to Thor in the soldier's camp looking up at the moon high in night sky…

"Land that gave us joy and sorrow…"

Kissing Heila on the palace veranda, running his hand through her dark red curls…

Heila saying goodbye to him and watching her walk away from him that day in the relic room…

"Land that gave us love and laughter…"

Frigga tucking him in as a small boy and kissing his forehead…

"We will go home across the mountains."

Frigga running to her sons when walked through the palace doors, arriving home from battle, and Loki and Thor picking her up in their arms and spinning her around as she laughed with relief and joy…

"We will home, we will go home…We will go home across the mountains. We will go home, we will home…We will go home across the mountains."

Loki opened his eyes again and closed his fist again around the pendant, then turned to Maakar and the centurion nodded and stepped forward, as if sensing what the prince wanted before he even said it.

He immediately produced a key and unlocked the chains around Loki's arms and wrists and gently removed them, just in time for Loki to put Heila's pendent inside his shirt vest and step through the threshold into the room.

"When the land is there before us… We have gone home across the mountains…" Loki sang, chiming in as he walked slowly toward his brother.

Thor smirked, surprised and seemingly delighted by his brother's presence, then sang the refrain with him.

"We will go home, we will go home…We will go home across the mountains."

Loki placed a hand on Thor's shoulder as he reached his brother's side and the two shared a look before Thor gently handed Nari over to Loki and the God of Mischief smiled as watched the baby's eyes flutter as he fell asleep in the crook of his father's arm.

"We will go home, we will go home…" the brother finished in soft voices together, "We will go home across the mountains."

# # # # # # #

Thor took a seat in the hallway outside Loki's bedchambers and leaned back against the wall, smirking at Maakar as the guard took post next to him as they both waited to escort Loki to the Great Hall.

Inside the nursery, Loki's eyes softened as he leaned over the cradle and looked down into the face of his sleeping son, his hand gently stroking the side of Nari's cheek.

"When you awaken," Loki said softly, "I'll be gone. I'm only sorry I can't stay with you longer. I know we are just getting to know each other."

He smiled slightly as he leaned closer, "I just want you to know that what I'm doing…It's for you, Nari, so that you can grow up in a free world, full of love and hope and family—_especially_ family. I want you to have all of those things because that is what you deserve, because it's something I never felt like I truly had and, more importantly, because that is what your mother wanted for you…"

Loki closed his eyes as he thought of Heila.

"I—" Loki started, then sighed as he opened his eyes, "I miss your mother so much, you can't even imagine… But, I'm comforted by the fact that you are a little piece of her that gets to live on in this world… and that makes you _very special_ to me."

Then he sniffed and pulled his hand back from Nari's face as he straightened and reached into the front of his shirt vest and retrieved Heila's pendant on its ribbon necklace.

He looked at it in the palm of his hand with reverence for a moment, then, taking hold of the end of the ribbon, reached forward and hung the necklace from one of the branches of the golden Yggdrasil tree mobile over the cradle.

"Here," Loki whispered, caressing the pendant as he looked back down to his sleeping infant, "This was your mother's…I want you to have it. And I pray to the fates that you will always know your way in this world. _But_, if you ever get lost, just remember that you mother's spirit will always be with you…and so will the North Star."

Then, he smiled sadly as looked back up at the pendant, "My father once explained it to me like this—that the brightest stars in the heavens, like Polaris—the North Star—are the spirits of the great kings of old and that they are always watching over us, guiding us when we need them most. Your mother was the light of my life. She always put me on the right path …" Loki said softly, remembering Heila's last words to him that day in the relic room, "But, my father…he was always my _true guide_, my North Star…and I intend to be yours. And one day, when I am gone, I hope you will look up to the night sky and remember me, just as I'll remember Odin, and know that the both of us will always be there to guide you, now and forever, in this life or the one hereafter."

Loki then took in a deep breath and released the pendant, leaving it to swing gently from the mobile before as he leaned down and kissed Nari's forehead.

"Goodnight, my son…" he whispered against the baby's skin then pulled the blankets up around the infant and straightened, turning on his heel and leaving the room.

# # # # # # #

"Oh…my…god…" Clint said, closing his eyes as he chewed, then opened them and pointed down at the remaining meat on the plate before him, "I think this one of the _best_ things I have _ever_ put in my mouth."

"I have to agree," Volstagg chimed in across the table as he took a bite from his own haunch of wild boar, continuing with his mouth full, "Quite delectable."

Natasha and Sif shared a glance across the table and Sif chuckled as she took a sip of mead and watched Volstagg put down the boar and greedily reach for a half a loaf of bread and begin to butter it with his mouth still full.

"Aren't you hungry?" Clint asked, still taking in large bites as he turned to Natasha and gestured to the feast laid out before them on the long hall table.

"Uh… no…" Natasha said, clearly turned off their gluttony, "I'm good."

"So, where are we to meet this threat to Asgard and the nine realms?" Hogun asked, sharpening his sword over his knee, ignoring his own plate of food

"A little gung-ho are we?" Fandral replied, then smirked flirtatiously at Natasha and moved his chair a little closer to where she sat, before turning his gaze back to Hogun

"We haven't battled anyone for _months_…" Hogun retorted in a disappointed voice, then rotated his shoulder with a wince, "I think I'm starting to get stiff."

"You should try other things to keep yourself limber…" Fandral countered, before raising a suggestive eyebrow to Natasha, who cocked her head to regard the Asgardian with an unimpressed look.

"Like practicing to improving your skills with a blade, Fandral," Sif interjected, tossing an olive at Fandral as she walked around to the head of the table, hitting him square between the eyes and bringing him out of his Don Juan persona as he cried out in surprise, then looked at her with mild disdain, "So that _every_ time we go into battle, we don't have to bring you home to the healer."

"Ha…ha…" Fandral shot back, then swiftly picked up a grape from his plate and threw it hard at her in retribution, but he missed and it flew over her head toward the entrance to the Grand Hall.

Everyone's eyes followed the grape with interest and they watched in stunned awe as Loki suddenly appeared in the threshold, with Thor at his side and Maakar leading him in by his chains, and leaned forward, strategically catching the grape in his mouth.

"Holy…" Natasha mused, catching her first glimpse of the man who destroyed New York in months.

She noticed he looked different, but three months in an Asgardian cave prison will do that to someone.

"Not Holy…" Loki smirked between chews, his green eyes regarding everyone in the room, "Just a God."


	11. Chapter 11

There was a moment of silence as the mortals and immortals at the Great Hall table regarded the God of Mischief, now standing before them in chains, seemingly stunned that he was actually in their presence in the flesh.

Finally, Maakar, taking in the mixture of awe, confusion, insolence, confusion, and mild disgust with which Loki was being regarded, found himself suddenly stepping forward and bringing the bottom of his silver century staff down hard on the marble floor.

He wasn't sure if it was fatherly instinct toward the Prince, loyalty or tradition that had brought him to do what he was doing, but the sound quickly reverberated through the hall and brought everyone's attention to him.

"Mortals, immortals…all Asgardians…" Maakar formally announced in the traditional summoning, coming to attention and straightening his posture, "This day behold, Loki Odinson…King of Asgard! All Hail!"

The silence that had been in the room before only became more deafening as Natasha's eyes widened, Clint dropped the fork from his hand and Fandral chopped slowly on the bread in his mouth and Sif, Hogun and Fandral shared an uncertain look.

"_What_?" a stunned whisper came from behind him and Maakar slowly turned to see Loki's eyebrows furrow in confusion as he nervously swallowed the grape in his mouth and took in the centurion's words.

Suddenly, Thor took in a deep breath and, regarding his friends for a moment, stepped forward and stood directly in front of his brother, who seemed the most stunned by this revelation of anyone in the room.

"All Hail…" Thor commanded over his shoulder to the others as he crossed his arm over his chest in the traditional Asgardian salute and lowered himself to one knee before Loki.

Moments later, Maakar followed suit and soon, the scraping of chair legs could be heard and Loki lifted his eyes to see Hogun relinquish his sword onto the table and hit Volstagg with his elbow, encouraging him to drop his food and follow him in following Thor's lead.

Within seconds, both men had lowered themselves to their knee, crossing their arms over their chests in salute.

And across the table, Fandral soon followed suit and kneeled as well, leaving only Natasha, Clint and Sif in their original positions.

Loki took in the sight before him with sad, uncertain eyes before quickly turning on his heel and, without a word, walking back through the threshold, leaving the room as fast as his legs would carry him.

Thor quickly rose to his feet and swiftly took off after his brother.

"Loki!" he cried, disappearing out into the foyer, "Loki, wait!"

"Oh, _that_ went well…" Clint said sarcastically looking over to Natasha with a raised eyebrow as he popped an olive in to his mouth, then regarded Hogun and Fandral as they returned to their seats at the table, dazed and confused by Loki's response.

"Actually," Sif scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and pacing past Clint back toward the head of the table, "Knowing Loki's true nature…_it did_."

# # # # # #

Loki wasn't sure where exactly his feet were carrying him, all he knew was that he had to put his head down and keep walking, even when he heard Thor calling after him.

Before he knew it, he was in front of a large door and wasted no time in pushing it open, sighing in relief as he fell back against the wood when it closed definitively behind him, letting his face fall into his hands.

"Loki…" a voice suddenly sounded in surprise nearby, causing the God of Mischief to remove his hands quickly from his face as he lifted his eyes to see that he had taken refuge, without knowing it, in the dimly lit Valhalla throne room.

"Odin…" Loki whispered as he lowered his still chained arms in front of his chest and took in the sight of the All Father now standing before him in the center of the room near the reflecting pool.

It had been three months since they had stood face to face in this very room and Odin couldn't help but feel happiness, love and relief swell in him all at once as he beheld his youngest son.

His hair was still long and he still wore his traditional Asgardian dress, as he had that day, but there was something _different_ about him—Odin could see it in his stature and in his face and eyes.

Loki was not the same man the All Father had sentenced to the dungeon cave prison upon his return to Asgard.

# # # # # #

_**Three months ago…**_

_Odin stiffened, gathering his strength and resolve as he took perch in his ceremonial dress upon the hereditary throne of Asgard, his golden scepter at his side._

"_Odin…" Frigga said forlornly, turning to him from where she stood at the side of his throne, wringing her hands nervously and casting anxious and sad eyes upon him, "You have refused to answer my question for days and now the hour is upon us…Will you not spare him?" _

_Odin's nostrils flared as he took in a steadying breath, trying to keep himself from crumbling at his wife's words. _

_All he could do was keep his eyes forward..._

_He must be strong. _

_The people of Asgard and the nine realms were depending upon him for justice. Word had already spread of Loki's insolence and violence on Midgard. And son, or no son, The All Father was now looked upon as the sole wielder of Loki's judgement._

_It was not exactly the kind of fate Odin had imagined for his son when he plucked him from the frozen tundra of Jotunhiem decades before, but it was a fate none the less._

_His only comfort was that Loki's fate was in **his** hands and not that of any other. _

_Straightening his posture, Odin lifted his scepter in his hands and brought it down hard on the marble flooring next to his throne, the sound signaling the guards outside._

"_Bring in the prisoner!" his voice bellowed through the throne room and within moments, the large doors opened and Odin watched out of the corner of his eye as Frigga left his side and descended down the stairs to the base of the All Father's throne. _

_There were a few moments of silence before the sound of methodical marching and the rattle of chains could be heard._

_Odin closed his eyes for a moment to strengthen his resolve before opening them and casting them down to his wife, whose own eyes were now glued to the doorway, waiting with baited breath for a glimpse of their son._

_She didn't have to wait long, for Loki soon appeared, turning the corner from the grand foyer and entering the throne room with a legion of guards behind him, Haimdall at the lead, wielding the chains around his neck, arms and ankles._

_As Odin laid his eyes upon his son, his first instinct was that of a father's relief that he was alive and there, in his presence before him, safe and sound. _

_He also couldn't help but fool himself into seeing the tall, lanky, dark haired, sweet and mischievous boy he had raised in the face of the condemned man who was now walking toward him for judgment. _

_Sadly, it was a face that had lost all of its kindness, innocence and intelligence and was now only hard, solemn, emotionless and seemingly without remorse or regret. _

_In his mind and heart, Odin felt his grief swell in him all over again._

_Was Thor right when he had, upon his return from Midgard, told him that Loki, __**their Loki**__, was most likely gone forever?_

_Odin had not allowed himself to believe it, even after word had reached them of the atrocities on Midgard…at least not until now. _

_Not until he saw Loki's face. _

_As the young Asgardian Prince came to a halt at the base of the All Father's throne, Frigga stepped forward, trying to make eye contact with her son._

"_Loki…" she said softly_

"_Hello, mother…" Loki said, cocking his head toward her, "Have I made you proud?" _

"_Please," Frigga implored, trying to hold on to her own resolve, "Don't make this worse."  
_

"_Define 'worse'," Loki cheekily replied and Odin immediately felt his grief turn to anger at seeing his son disrespect the mother he so loved months and years before._

"_Enough!" he called out, "I will speak to the prisoner alone."_

_Thus, signaling that Frigga was to leave them, which she did immediately._

_Loki watched after her for a moment, then took another step toward the throne and came to attention before Odin, pointedly clinking his ankle irons together_

"_I really don't see what all the fuss is about…" he chirped with a half-smile_

_Odin's eyes narrowed as he looked down upon his younger son, desperately trying to hold his emotions in check, his head reeling at the sight of this new version of his son._

_"Do you not truly feel the gravity of your crimes?" The All Father asked in the most solemn voice he could muster, trying to flesh out and gauge Loki's true demeanor, "Wherever you go there is war, ruin…and death." _

"_I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent God…" Loki immediately countered, "Just like you."_

"_We are not Gods," Odin replied in a correcting tone, "We are born, we live, we die…just as humans do." _

"_Give or take five thousand years…" Loki snarked_

"_All this…" Odin shot back, trying to push him further, "Because Loki desires a throne." _

"_It is my birthright," Loki said defiantly in a resolved and haughty tone, his eyes hardening_

_Odin suddenly felt his heart drop. Thor had been right. Loki had left them. _

_He now possessed a new psyche—a psyche that was of a lost, broken and fragile orphan, yes, and that he could forgive, but it seemed to also be one of greed, anger, and revenge—one that, if he had any hope of getting his real son back, he would have to break. _

_It was with that in mind that the All Father suddenly found himself shouting, "You're __**birthright**__… was to die!" _

_Then he immediately calmed his voice, reigning himself in _

"_As a child…cast out on a frozen rock…" he continued, leaning forward in his throne, "If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me_."

_And for a moment, he thought he saw Loki's face and eyes soften, seemingly in shock—seemingly hurt and disturbed by his father's words. _

_But, the moment quickly passed as Loki's features turned hard again and he took another step forward, calling the All Father's bluff._

"_If I am meant for the axe, then for mercy sake…swing it," he challenged, "It's not that I don't love our little talks, it just …__**I don't love them."**_

_Odin sat back and stiffened at the low blow, then continued, knowing exactly what his son's punishment should be, for he realized in that moment that death would be too easy for Loki. _

_Besides, he had Frigga and Thor and Nari to think of. _

_They would be the ones to suffer from the God of Mischief's death, not Loki._

_Taking in an a stoic breath, the All Father's face hardened, matching his son's, as he finally delivered his judgment, albeit much more ineloquently than he meant to._

_But, this was no time for eloquence, this was a time for retribution and for him to break his son before he saved him._

"_Frigga is the only reason you are still alive…and you will not see her again," Odin bluffed, knowing that this would strike a low blow to Loki. As, deep down, he had to still harbor feelings for his mother, even if he didn't possess any for Odin or Thor. "You will spend the rest of your days in the dungeon." _

_Odin hadn't the heart to bring up Heila or the fact that she had been ill with grief after Loki fell from the bifrost, only lose her life months later in child birth. That knowledge would have killed Loki. All Odin wanted to do was break him._

_Loki's face fell as he contemplated the All Father's words for a moment before responding_

"_And what of Thor?" he asked as Haimdall stepped forward, taking hold of his chains in one hand and his shoulder in the other, attempting to pull him back toward the door to make their exit, "You'll make that witless oaf king while I rot in chains?"  
_

_Haimdall suddenly stopped his movements and cast his eyes knowingly up to the All Father, interested to see what he would say. _

_For Odin knew that the current King of Asgard and he was now standing before them in chains._

"_Thor must strive to undo the damage you have done," The All Father said, withholding the knowledge of Loki's true charge, "He will bring order to the nine realms and then, yes, he will be king."_

_Loki's narrowed his eyebrow in confusion for a moment, then felt Haimdall's strong grip return to his shoulder, causing the young Prince's face to reflect resignation he suddenly felt to his fate. _

_He was going to the dungeon—the Asgardian cave prison of Vrunggar—and he would be there the rest of his days. _

"_Take him away…" Odin said in commanding voice, his eyes reflecting the sadness he suddenly felt at saying the fateful words._

# # # # # #

The doors to the throne room opened and Loki immediately turned to see his brother behind him.

"There you are!" Thor said with a sigh of relief as he stood in the threshold for a moment, then entered and walked straight for Loki, "Forgive me brother, Maakar and I only wanted to help. We did not mean to thrust the knowledge of your rule upon you in such a way, but we felt the others would give you more respect in our mission if they knew that you were the one to lead us."

"So you know…" Odin suddenly interjected, causing Thor to immediately look up and take notice of his father's presence in the room.

"Father," he acknowledged then looked back to Loki for a moment before continuing, "Um..yes.. Forgive me. I know that I probably shouldn't have—"

"No matter what your reasons or intentions, it is out in the open now," The All Father stated, raising his hand to silence Thor, but keeping his eyes focused on Loki.

After a few moments of silence, Odin lowered his hand and turned his gaze upon his older son.

"Thor, return to our guests. I wish to speak with Loki, alone…" Odin began

"But Father—" Thor spoke up, looking to Loki with uncertain eyes, unsure whether to leave his brother's side

"I said _leave us_," The All Father said in a commanding tone, immediately receiving a nod from Thor as the God of Thunder crossed his arm over his chest in the sign of allegiance before bowing his head and quickly exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

Loki took in a deep breath as he locked eyes with Odin for a few moments more, before the All Father suddenly turned on his heel and with a sweep of his cape, quickly walked across the room toward the throne of Asgard.

Loki narrowed his eyes, unsure of whether or not he should follow as he watched Odin climb the gilded steps slowly to the golden chair.

"Come, my son…" Odin said, turning back to face Loki and beckoning him forward with his hand

Loki swallowed, then slowly, but surely walked forward, making his way toward the base of the throne.

"Is it true?" he asked, somehow finding his voice as he looked up to the All Father standing over him, "Am I _truly_ the ruler of Asgard?"

"Yes," Odin replied, "With my fall into the Odin sleep, you became King by Asgardian law. With my awakening and your supposed death, I became steward and your brother heir apparent. I cannot take the scepter from the king who already has held it."

Loki took in a nervous breath, then exhaled audibly

"Do I sense that you do not wish to be King?" Odin suddenly asked, seemingly taken aback by his son's subtle reaction.

"I—I do not know…" Loki said softly, lowering his eyes and searching his thoughts carefully, uncertain how he felt about the whole thing

Odin smiled as he closed his eyes and placed his hand over his heart in relief and slowly lowered himself to sit on the steps before the throne.

"My son…" he whispered, as he opened his eyes and gazed upon his son below him—the son that three months ago, he had worried was beyond saving, "That is the best answer a _true _king could give."


End file.
